Taming of the Beast
by Fat With Fuzz
Summary: Galen has left the Empire behind and his mount, Ferine, has gone missing since his absence. Fearing the worst, he sets out to search for his mount and a previous Jedi he had hunted, General Kota. Along the way he meets an interesting group of individuals that join him in his fight against the empire. One of the individuals has a past as dark and as twisted as his own which he hides
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is being revamped, considering how old it is and how I kept getting stuck with how to progress the plot. Work with the rough chapters, they might not match the flow of the others in grammer etc. But I am updating as I post so new readers can have a good experience and familiar readers can go back and have a better read of the characters. Thank you! Oh, and stop skipping ahead to the last chapter I posted without reading the rest of the story. If you're curious to see if you'll like it or not, read the first few chapters like a normal person, otherwise, don't give me story traffic views at all. It's very disrespectful. Just to state how I feel. ENJOY! :3

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"I don't know where to look, Juno," the young apprentice said in dejection. "He could be anywhere by now. I don't know how long I was in Vader's possession."

"You…were gone about six months. I would know I…he had me imprisoned the whole time."

The young apprentice glanced at the woman with an even more dejected expression. Yes, how could he have forgotten how he found her? He didn't even think how long she had been there. He was just glad she was still there. She glanced at him and he looked away. She felt bad now fore mentioning it at all, but it seemed like an eternity. She would have to bathe while he was away as well, at some point in the journey.

"How did he go missing? Did Vader get rid of him?" the beautiful pilot asked with easily detectable concern for how the apprentice was feeling about his loss. She had been with him for a while now and all they had was each other. Hopefully, this dispelled the awkward moment she had created for them both.

"I don't know. Maybe if we go to a populated area I could ask around," the young man surmised, rubbing the bridge of his nose, stressfully. He would gladly take the blame for her imprisonment. He was still bitter about his master back-stabbing him…literally. Why would he…concoct such an underhanded thing? It made no…sense.

"Where to?" came Juno's soft voice.

"Uh, Nar-Shadda. That's the only place I know of right now. I might be able to find some help there as well to fight the empire," he said regaining his assurance slightly. He'd have to ponder about this whole thing later. He needed to rest his mind and prep for the journey.

"All right then," Juno declared. She entered the coordinates in on the navi-computer and put the Rogue Shadow into hyperspace.

Galen tried to get his mind off of what could have possibly happened to Ferine. Juno was alive and safe. He was relieved about that, but all that he had known before was not at peace. Ferine could be anywhere at this point. Maybe even…. he didn't want to think about what Vader could have possibly done with his mount. He frankly expected the worse, naturally for his part, but then again he wanted to hope his mount was some place safe where he could take care of himself. After all, nobody could handle his mount besides him.

"You wretched beast! You should know better than to bite your own handler!" a male bounty hunter snarled. A blaster was whipped out on the black equine that refused his men while they prodded the animal repeatedly with buzzing sticks. Moving the beast had been damned near impossible.

The animal had been glancing about the whole time. A strange planet with elevators of sorts, which went up high for several thousand feet to reach streets that, reigned overhead. The atmosphere was rank with pollution and foul aromas. The sky was even a sickening yellow and green color. The men and the beast, however, were on the ground streets, heading to a very secluded location.

The guarlara neighed harshly. He reared on his hind legs, erecting to his full height of 18 hands. He was like no other animal anyone of the men had handled before. He had already signed each and every man with his teeth in the groin. It had left more than a bruise if he could help it. After all, the beast not only had teeth, but great tusks that the apprentice had intentionally let grow out for offensive purposes.

The bounty hunter grasped a leather lead rope made out of the universe's strongest materials, bought off of the black market, of course, to handle exotic animals that tried to resist their cruel treatment. The lead rope was connected to a leather halter around the stallion's head. The halter was a spider web of thick leather bands and a muzzle that rendered the stallion's evil mouth closed.

Instead the stallion reared, pawed, and bucked. Whatever the hell was on his face would be torn to a million shreds when they went to remove it!

One orange-skinned individual behind him tauntingly stomped on his long tail. The tail squirmed about under the individual until it was yanked free where it was wielded and the man was knocked down, quite forcefully. This particular individual kept his distance from the thrashing tail. There was power behind it.

"Aww, calm down, Black Beauty. You ain't got no better place to be than with us right now," the bounty hunter crooned. The man dared to approach the animal.

The stallion's nostrils flared in offense at the bounty hunter's temerity to even come at him with such taunting behavior.

"I have you in the palm of my hand," he said softly. The foul-smelling hand patted the side of his muzzle.

The guarlara squealed in fury, throwing his body in the air. He struck out at the bounty hunter with his forefeet. A nearby lamppost rang in distress with the man's body upon impact. He slid to the ground and here he stayed for a while. The stallion whipped around. The lead rope was now under his control.

His horns thrashed about at the five men that enclosed him. One of them, a trandoshan, fled away from the beast. The stallion snorted with pleasure. What a fool he was. He chased him to a pair of rusted old doors. The trandoshan ran into them head on before he realized they were not going to open. It was too late. He let out a painful growl as the stallion ran him through his backside with both of his murderous horns. The guarlara backed away, but the trandoshan was now wedged on his horns, exclaiming in pain all the while. The beast whirled around and the unfortunate nuisance flew off his weapons. The trandoshan's body flopped into a heap on the metal ground.

The buzzing of the shock sticks rang in his ears as the remaining four men surrounded him. The pointed ears drew back. The bright blue eyes flashed white and the equine danced about. The extensively long feather on his legs flowed with his movements.

The stallion had waited too long to use his lightning ability. He was very reluctant to do so without Galen present. He never really did use it without Galen being nearby to some degree. He always spared that ability and used his natural weapons. He pawed the earth and sidestepped, scaling every man that surrounded him.

"You can't win, pretty boy," a Shistavanen growled. His lips drew up in a most devilish smirk.

The stallion snorted with a toss of his head at the statement. He had never lost a fight. Even if it seemed like he was he always won his way out of it by adapting. With a heavy grunt another shock staff was embedded into his delicate hide. The stallion bucked with a non-painful snort. The familiar twi'lek's staff was sent flying from his hands, as he did not move away quick enough. He then screamed in alarm as he was turned upon without warning and mauled on his backside by the stallion's horns. The beast was fast, even for his sheer size. How he was this fast, was questionable.

"Shock him! Shock him!" the twi'lek screamed while he was effortlessly launched into the air by the stallion's powerful neck. He hit the metal floor and painfully scrambled to get away only to be knocked down again. A sharp pain ripped his back afire as one of the stallion's front claws sliced into his flesh.

The equine had thought this man had learned not to mess with him, especially his tail!

"Hold still, my beauty," the handler growled. Hopefully, the beast would. He was trying to shoot the damn thing! One eye drew closed and the butt of the gun was steadied against his shoulder.

A blast echoed throughout the metal formation of the streets. The stallion hopped away from the twi'lek from a slight pain in the left side of his thick neck. He charged another man in the meantime. The man succeeded in shocking him in his sensitive nose with the staff. A pained snort and the stallion danced away from the man. Another slight pain struck the right side of his neck this time. What were these things?

"He's not going down. What in the galaxy is this beast? These are the heaviest tranqs in the business!" The gun was allowed to slack a bit. Two should have been more than enough. This was definitely a beast from the pits of hell, if it existed. He didn't know, but he was starting to believe, now.

The guarlara tossed his head in vexation. The remaining two men wearily gave him space as he trotted swiftly about, warning them with tosses of his great head. His horns prodded their boldness and they respected him for the moment. The orange twi'lek retrieved his shock stick and nodded at his companions who moved in to surround the beast that began to buck and falsely charge them, as he felt threatened.

"Gentlemen, set your weapons to their highest setting. We'll have to practically kill this beast in order to move him any further. I'll keep hitting him with darts," the handler announced in a gruff voice. The gun was reapplied to the dancing equine.

The stallion came to a sudden stop in his movement. His head draped. Well, he was getting irritated with this whole thing! Why did they not quit?

The daring men were skeptical about this sudden change in behavior, even suspecting that he was finally going to go down. He snorted and shook his head softly as another slight pain pierced the right side of his neck. Four bright red-feathered darts fluttered out from both sides of his neck. He felt perfectly fine. Never better!

His enemies pushed their luck by moving closer, their staffs cocked and ready to shock him without rue. The equine was suddenly airborne. All four legs had left the ground, well above the head of the men. The men paused cautiously with stammering voices, more so out of sheer awe.

The floor quaked with reverberation of power from the stallion's four legs striking the ground. A loud CRACK and a blinding flash had the men and his followers bowing to the beast, rigid with surging electricity. It had come from the metal floor somehow when he had landed. The stallion nickered with uncertainty. His vision blurred. He wilted to the ground, finally at peace. His enemies took some time to gather themselves, but they arose victorious and sore. The shock was not the stallion's worst. It was hard to muster such a thing, for the stallion knew he had no place to flee if he did kill the men. The boy he had known was nowhere in sight.

"Oh, he's out like a light. How many, boss. Four? Yeah, he's not going to be waking up for a while," the injured orange twi'lek laughed as he and his companions stared down upon the great beast that lay in peace. He eventually parked his rump on the ground, well away from the monster to recuperate.

"What the hell was that junk? I feel like a damned sign from one of the local casinos!" the shistavanen exclaimed almost in a roar.

"Boys, it looks like we've got an animal that's been tampered with. Big money right here," the handler stated with glee. A black boot nudged the stallion's head.


	2. Chapter 2

The Rogue Shadow burst out of Hyperspace into the seemingly friendly atmosphere of Nar- Shadda. Trails of airborne spacecraft circled its atmosphere. Juno directed the ship towards the planet.

"How long will you be gone?" Juno asked in a concerned tone, following the young apprentice to the lowering door of the ship that she had docked at port. The port could lead anywhere. Why would she be so concerned, anyways? He had handled himself before. He always came back…yes; he did, actually, even if it took a while.

Galen, outfitted in his bounty hunter wardrobe for safety, paused at the door. With a sigh he looked over his shoulder. "I…don't know. As the usual, just wait here, okay? Well, maybe not right here, but hang around. Find a safe place to land and stay there. We'll stay in contact by comlink," he assured her.

The pilot nodded and watched Galen depart down the ramp. She watched him find his way down a winding road where he disappeared around a corner. With a sigh she headed back in the ship and the door to Rogue Shadow lifted. The hard part, now, was to occupy herself with something so she wouldn't be worried about him or his success. His droid wasn't something of pleasant associations.

The young man waded through a bar area, keeping his ears pricked for any interesting information. The buildings were open at this hour. The doors were parted and anyone of any caliber could walk in and make himself at home.

If he could manage it he had to find someone he already knew, but whom? It was a silly thought for he only knew of one person. He knew of Master Kota. That was his original plan upon arriving here, but then there was the matter of Ferine. He could be anywhere in the galaxy right now. He might never find him. The apprentice dismissed the fearful thoughts he was beginning to muster and acted casual. Six men sat along the perimeter of the bar counter very animated about their conversation. Galen found a nearby support beam and casually leaned back against it, acting as if he were waiting for someone. He purposely listened to their conversation.

"My money is on the Nexu this time. I've been dumb enough to bet on the sluggish wampas these last few fights. They fight hard and brutal, but no speed and then they're done for," commented a blonde haired man to the far left. He nervously scratched his head with a forefinger.

"Where did the Nexu come from?" asked a blue male twi'lek four people down.

"It's been imported. Story goes it was captured on an unnatural planet for itself. Tatooine, I believe. It's brought in big money. It's never lost a fight either. It was a pain in the ass to bring here to Nar Shadda to fight," the man replied placing his hand across his chin.

"Is it true it's been altered in some way?" An oddly colored gungan sat more erect which was sitting beside the twi'lek. The gungan was almost a turquoise color. Very unique considering gungans were only shades of red and green. He was unusually well spoken in basic for one also.

"Yeah, actually. The nexu has ears, two eyes, and a furry tail. How the hell that happened I will never know, but it's different and that's what the owners like. All kinds of bounty hunters have come to buy it from its master, but she won't part with it. She's dark skinned and hotheaded if you approach her wrong. I would like to own her myself, if I could. I could use her in taming some of my animals that I have had imported from other sectors," the man said with a grin.

The twi'lek scoffed. "Haven't you heard? She's got a bounty on her head!"

All the bounty hunters shifted to him with itchy ears.

"What yousa sayin, twi'lek?" the gungan asked in a low voice, looking at his partner. His speech had suddenly reverted to its original base language.

"She's up for grabs by anyone. I haven't seen her wondering the streets lately. She knows. I wouldn't turn her in. I would keep her for myself. Rumor has it that she's got a lightsaber hidden on her somewhere," the twi'lek publicized in a hushed voice waving his blue hands about. His long fingernails gave his hands an almost feminine look.

"Ahh, that's hog wash and you know it, tail head! She ain't no damn Jedi! The galaxy's rid of em' all anyways. Good riddance," the man disclosed chugging his glass of water down quickly.

The twi'lek leaned in the man's direction narrowing his eyes. "Then how do you explain the men that have been littering the streets with severed arms and holes in their guts? They've been sliced and stabbed with a lightsaber! It's got to be a lightsaber! Don't tell me you haven't seen any, human! She's not prejudice just against human men. Trandoshans, Shistavanen's, Talz, and twi'leks, alike have been lost to her. All because they tried to approach her, scam her, bully another person, or they tried to mistreat her pet. Now if you ask me," the twi'lek said softly in a very arduous tone, "that is explicit jedi behavior!" he finished. A blue hand slapped the surface of the bar resolutely.

The group murmured lowly to themselves nodding and skeptically gesturing that the twi'lek's statement was plausible.

"Hey, isn't the empire looking for anyone who's against it? Per say a Jedi? We need to find her and ambush her. We could get so many credits for turning her in," surmised the man, regaining his interest in the theory.

Galen raised an eyebrow at this new information. There were more jedi that existed besides the select few he had terminated all ready and Master Kota? Why didn't she show up on his master's hit list? If he could find her, he could request her help. He figured she already knew she was in danger, but it was very evident in the bounty hunters body language that they were going to find her now.

He was about to leave when he realized he was back at square one. Where did he go to look for her? She would surely be hidden and someone the likes of himself would not be welcomed with open arms in the bar if he asked around about her whereabouts. If she was a jedi he could possibly seek her out through the force. After all, he force signature was far different than his or his master's and so was General Kota's. Complete opposites. He leaned off of the lamppost and headed further into the city, departing from the bar.

He walked through a few outdoor dining areas before he emerged on a maze of streets that were elevated above the planet's surface. He sequestrated himself and closed his eyes.

"Hey, there," came the sultry female voice.

He whirled around in offense to see a beautiful young zeltron female smirk at him. She wore tight khaki-colored leather pants and a revealing khaki-colored leather top shirt. She had a gun at her waist secured in a leather sheath. She also had two daggers in sheaths enclosing both of her legs over her knee-high brown boots. She was a bounty hunter of some type.

"Can I help you?" he asked in an unimpressed tone. She had pushed her way into his general bubble. He backed away from her, fingers itching in annoyance.

"Yes, do you want to know me?" she asked him, twisting about.

The young man instinctively reached for his lightsaber. He awakened its red blade, pointing it at her warningly. He was safe now for the saber separated her from approaching. Whatever the hell her problem was, she had a look in her eye that she wanted to make physical contact. The only kind contact he had made was when he rescued Juno and carried her to the ship. Otherwise, any other contact would most likely result in pain. It…always did. He wanted to just blast her off in space, but he was in a different setting, different world, and culture. He was in disguise! This would be less fun than he was used to. It was such an impulse to get rid of nuisances!

"Oh," she chortled, "so you're not a bounty hunter?" she inquired of him.

She seemed even more interested than fearful, than the apprentice was used to dealing with. A red lightsaber blade usually made people flee, shoot, or run and scream. He killed them either way. This…woman, whatever she was, another female he had ever seen besides Juno was actually bothering him. That was very unusual. It was how she was going about it.

"You're very resistant. I like that in my boys," she stated to him. That seemed to be her mindset. He was guilty of being too attractive for her apparently…somehow. He had no interest or appeal for alien women. Why was he even thinking about this? He had things to do!

Galen intolerably stepped towards her and she backed up in slight alarm, throwing her arms out in front of her. He was not pleased with her attempt to hit on him.

"Hey, what are you doing with that? So you want your space, I get it, even though that's unlike the male species," she acknowledged in disappointment and curiosity. "It's not nice to be angry for unseen things," she tried to convince him in her sly voice.

"I not only want my space, I want information about a suspected Jedi that owns a Nexu around here," he wittingly seized from the situation and scene. His voice was hard and low. He was fighting impulsive emotions to be happy, attracted to the sexy zeltron, and lively. It had to be some kind of mind-trick. How so? She was no force-user like he. It made him crawl with intolerance.

"Oh so you're half and half. I get it. You mean IS (Ih-ss)," the zeltron corrected him. She folded her light red arms again. She became casual. "You'll never find her. She knows the best places to hide in this slag of the city. I would suggest you start looking for her in the underground holding cells for the arena beasts. You might find someone there who's willing to point you in her general direction. Just don't expect her to accept your seeking intentions. She will castrate you without so much as second thought. The zeltron smirked.

The young apprentice backed away from her further. He was feeling uneasy with fighting these positive emotions that prodded his conscious mind even more persistently for no comprehensible reason. "Where is it?" he snapped.

The zeltron female only grinned at the young apprentice and he reversed his grip immediately on his saber. He sank into his knees, exhaling. This individual was not going to just let him go. He had made a mistake by drawing his lightsaber on her. He should have just kept walking.


	3. Chapter 3

The young apprentice sharply reached behind him with his free hand. A lamppost was ripped from its welding and chucked at the bounty hunter, telekinetically. He leaped in the air. The flying post was evaded where it shattered once it hit a nearby wall. The bounty hunter drew her pistol, firing multiple shots at the young apprentice. Galen deflected her blaster fire with his lightsaber. He tucked himself into a backflip.

He glared down upon her after landing on a flashing sign overhead. Something caught his eye and drew his gaze away for a moment. Sure enough, if the bar scum wasn't coming to investigate the fray.

"Look! A jedi!"

Shots rang out at him and he dashed away, flying from the sign in a leap onward to get away from them all. He, at least, wanted to get in a reasonable fighting area. Since he was above the surface of the planet he wanted more space, objects to throw, and maneuver in. He was not afraid to fight. He just didn't want HER to attack his mind again. It was a terrible feeling to be violated in his mind. His private, personal mind. He knew things that she had no business knowing. If she did find out it would be her last train of thought before he ran her through. Granted, she was less likely to break through his defense than his master was. Nothing could be hidden from the monster. He seemed like that at times.

The apprentice swiftly ran, ricocheting off nearby high rising walls, pushing himself a few roads over in a single leap. He could see some strange towers ahead of him beyond a slum. He leapt up and gripped a wall with his feet momentarily before he pushed off of it, using the force to carry him his desired distance.

The zeltron kept on his heels. She paused, shooting at him, but he evaded her lasers. She broke in a run again, cocking her blaster. The magazine of the blaster morphed mechanically and so did the barrel of the gun, lengthening in its profile. She expertly observed the young apprentice through its new scope.

His trajectory was emended from a pin-like pain. It ripped through the left side of his neck. He winced in response. The pain was agonizing, despite its small surface area. That was probably why it was more painful than usual. He fell short of his target making a last minute calculation to catch himself on the cold, chrome road. His body struck the tarnished chrome and he caught himself on his hands and knees. He felt for the dart with a hand and pried it from his flesh. It was tossed away. While he was occupied with that, blaster fire reached him. He evaded it with a back flip. Galen continued his run to the strange towers. He suspected that they were elevators that led down below to the planet's surface.

"Stay hard on him, boys. He's not going down easy," the female zeltron voiced to her surrounding kin. "That was the heaviest dart I have."

Galen began to dash now. He reached a pair of metal doors leading to the slum area. They were tall and thick. He stared up at them curiously, and then glanced over his shoulder. The mass of bar scum was quickly gaining on him. The doors before him parted and he looked forward. The shistavanen, the size of a wampa he had once fought, roared, thrusting the ax he gripped. The young man darted backward as the ax head rung in distress, making contact with the metal floor where he had once been. Blaster fire reached the apprentice's ears and he deflected the shots fired at him. He had to get away.

"He's mine!" the shistavanen bellowed, whirling around to behead the young apprentice. The apprentice ducked. He rolled under the splicing blade of the ax head, popping up before a buff twi'lek that had a shock staff.

"Word gets around," the young man said finding himself cut off and not by the same group that was originally after him.

The twi'lek grinned. He began to goad Galen with it. Galen blocked and parried his moves, seizing the twi'lek with the force into the air. His stick fell from his hands and he was thrown at the massive wolf-man. The beast teetered back, slightly. The beastly humanoid snarled, plucking the twi'lek up by his scruff, throwing him back at Galen who was slow to evade it. He was knocked to the ground. His legs drew up in reaction and the twi'lek was disposed of with a kick. Galen shot up to block a powerful downward blow by the massive shistavanen.

The grizzled beast growled with an evil smirk at the young man. The young apprentice offered no reaction in his expression. Galen ducked the shisto's attempt to backhand him, dropping to the ground. The shistavanen's left leg was wrenched out from under him with Galen's right shin.

The wolf-man crashed to the floor. The heated apprentice twirled his lightsaber into a stabbing position to finish the shistavanen. He angrily growled and his blade soared for the wolf man's chest.

"Not so fast, human!" She ran up and leaped into the air, striking Galen in the right side of his collarbone with the side of her hand.

The young apprentice dropped his lightsaber. Before he could counter the effect he became disoriented. The shistovanen seized him by his neck and the young apprentice was not slow to demandingly grab the shisto's conditioned wrist. The scruffy humanoid growled. He gradually arose, holding Galen, victoriously in the air.

"You fight well, jedi," he growled.

Galen was feeling very lethargic. It had to be the dart he had been shot with. He could not pass out. Not now, although, he was dangerously on the edge of it after the zeltron had made contact with his pressure point. She was not dead on, but it was vindictively close. He feared he might not be able to recover. He located his lightsaber and slowly reached out with his left hand to retrieve it telekinetically, straining to stay cognizant. The zeltron's booted foot landed sharply on it the minute it started to move towards him. Galen glared up at her. She smiled sinisterly at him.

"Nice try, my jedi friend, but you've failed... epically," she said to him. Her being approached him once more.

He felt the strange, impulsive emotions pierce his mind again. He didn't have the strength any more to physically get away. All of the bar scum surrounded him. Greedily, the constricted his space. The zeltron stopped dead in her tracks and frowned.

"Hey!" she sharply demanded from the men and they stopped. "Nuh-uh! He's mine. Fair and square. I tranqed him, I caught him, he's mine. Besides, I saw him first," she said and claimed the young apprentice for herself.

Galen was very weak now. The only thing that was keeping him conscious was his dread of the zeltron getting any closer to him. A shearing hum pierced the air behind the female alien and she turned around with her gun drawn. It was slowly lowered. The men that surrounded Galen fearfully began to back away.

"It's her! It's the jedi!" the turquoise gungan exclaimed in fear.

"Stop your whining. She's out in the open now! Let's get her boys," a blonde headed bounty hunter said walking towards her. He was very close the figure's position.

A hand flew out from under the long sleeves of the green cloak. They were ebony- skinned. Galen desperately sought to get free from the beastly creature's grip upon seeing them. The blonde haired bounty hunter flew backward, knocking over six other men, fluently. They groaned in pain.

Sensing the danger, the wolf-man gripped Galen's neck even tighter. Galen blinked rapidly. He gagged, replacing his free hand back on the thick wrist of the beast that was choking him.

"Let him go, Adria! Now!" the figure sharply bellowed in a young female tone. For a young girl it was very bold and reinforced. Her voice depicted intolerance and urgency.

The Zeltron smirked. "No," she simply said.

The Figure threw back its hood to reveal a young adult woman who had a very upset expression on her face. Her hair was very short, but slightly fluffy, secured in a jade green headband with blue gems accenting its brim. Galen realized he could use force lightning, but he couldn't risk it with the jedi present. She would discover what he was. It would be his death if she felt threatened.


	4. Chapter 4

"Kitty-kitty-kitty!" the jedi spieled in song. Reverberating through the atmosphere, the snarl was vicious. The surrounding bounty hunters drew up their guns. In amongst the smog a beast furtively shot down from a towering spire landing on top of the shisto's backside. Claws embedded themselves into his backside. Massive jaws enclosed the back of his neck applying intentional pressure to kill. The shistavanen howled in pain. The young apprentice was dropped who melted to the tarnished chrome street with urgent gasps for air and coughing. He couldn't even hold himself up off the ground.

"He's mine, wretch!" the zeltron snarled. A dagger was drawn and rushed at the young woman.

The jedi closed the distance between them. The zeltron screamed as she was launched backwards by the mere thrust of an ebony-skinned hand. Several cowering hunters were also mowed down by her flying figure in the process.

"He's not yours or mine," the young jedi said softly as she knelt down to Galen who was still breathing rapidly for breath on his stomach. "Can you walk?" she asked him as he pulled himself onto on knee. She had a compassionate presence.

"I don't know," he breathed.

"Here," she said and Galen's light saber appeared before his eyes in her dark, beautiful, svelte hand.

He took it and faltered slightly.

"You're going to have to find your feet unless you want to be shot," she advised him honestly.

"I feel...tired," he said weakly.

"No, you don't," the jedi countered his statement reaching out to him. She held her hand over his backside closing her eyes.

The stumbling wolf-man seized the mass of flesh and fur on his backside and tore its beholder from his flesh. He roared in pain as the claws instinctively braced themselves further into his back. The jaws about his neck clenched together and he felt nothing as his neck was snapped swiftly. The humanoid flopped to the ground. The beast on his back dislodged itself from the heap of flesh on the floor, springing at fleeing bounty hunters. It took a pleasurable interest in the hunter's that decided to stay.

"It's a nexu! Shoot it-Shoot it!" screamed a short, round fat human as he madly fired at the beast. The nexu strolled up to him as he panicked. He was knocked down, and then flung up in the air where he was playfully head-butted to the tarnished surface once more. Here he writhed in pain.

The zeltron arose. She witnessed the young apprentice attempting to stand with help from the jedi. She scowled at the sight, but she retreated in spite of it.

The nexu let out a greeting growl as it bounded up to the jedi. Galen felt refreshed again. All he had to bother him was a slight feeling of drowsiness. He could breathe easily now and he felt free on the inside of his being. Emotionally and mentally. He never realized he was so... oppressed and tense. The jedi had used the force to heal him. He had never thought about the force being extended for such a thing. It actually felt wrong to be so at ease, but…he accepted it for now.

"Come, they run like cowards, but they are persistent," the jedi said to the young apprentice kind heartedly. Her hand reached out to grab the ear of her nexu affectionately as it routinely inspected her.

Galen activated his light saber, reversing his grip on it. Brusque blaster fire sailed out at them. He followed the young jedi to the large pair of doors. The young jedi closed her eyes as she ran. Her nexu followed behind the young apprentice. He wasn't too thrilled with it being behind him, but he had no choice. He had to trust the jedi that had saved his life. Where she came from and how she came so conveniently was a mystery to him. He had to admit that she was very tenacious and bold.

The air flensed the surface of his skin when the door way passed him by.

"Aminah, destroy the door's wiring!" The jedi deactivated her lightsaber and stuck it in her cloak.

The feral feline groaned in acknowledgement to her master's request. Galen glanced over his shoulder to see the beast slice through the thick wires that lay at the base of each door with ease. His pace lessened in disbelief at what he saw. The nexu easily severed the cables with its claws. The feline whirled around in an almost playful manner, running heatedly to catch up with the two force users.

Galen picked up his velocity again as thunder rolled overhead and the metal doors slammed shut as a safety precaution. Any one that was trying to follow could not follow now. The apprentice was bombarded with sharp, stinging rain. It struck him like thousands of little needles to the point where he could hardly see and distinguish feelings on his flesh. Where had this rain come from? The jedi had pulled her hood over her head to protect herself from the harsh rain.

The young apprentice deactivated his light saber. He gave the jedi some credit to her skill in the force. The jedi's reputation was true. She actually had tamed a wild animal that was implausible to tame. Of course, he had tamed Ferine to a very deep degree or, at least, he thought. He still had trouble with the animal on a regular basis. Frankly, he desired to correct the stallion's behaviors more than ever so he wouldn't draw attention to himself. Alas, the beast was bred for malicious actions. How could he reverse this? It was folly to even consider it now. He considered asking her to help him, but she might discover why the stallion was so belligerent. It would not end well for her.

The trio passed old buildings meshed with discolored metal sidings. People on the streets rushed inside, exclaiming in pain about the hard down poor. The metal hissed with the solid sheets of rain that would hit it.

The nexu climbed up onto the rooftops, bounding from one to the other in sync with its master's pace, unaffected by the harsh rain. Its ears were pricked to catch any commands that the jedi might give it. Its nature was well abated for being a predator that was otherwise uncooperative.

The jedi rounded a visually faint corner for the apprentice. He blindly followed after her. Before he knew it he was in a sheltered cave of some sort in blackness. He shook his head to rid it from the rain that streamed down his face. He slowly turned to see a solid white sheet of rain. Now that the rain was no longer numbing his skin, the stinging remnants of the rain began to arise. His exposed skin still stung from the rain. The nexu curiously sniffed his lower body. It stood right up against him, almost, on his left.

"Does the rain on this planet usually fall so harshly?" Galen asked shifting into the nexu by his side. He stepped away from it, cautiously to hear it let out a surprised grunt. It looked up at him and blinked. He observed the unusual lack of its second pair of eyes. It then moved further into the darkness gently striking his thigh with its long tail. Much to his surprise the nexu didn't take offense from being bumped into. He expected it to have snarled and swiped at him, but it didn't. He was accustomed to Ferine taking offense and lashing out even over accidents. He was just so use to it.

The young man became conscious of a change in gravity. He calmly twisted around to confirm his senses.

"Don't worry. You're in an elevator," came the Jedi's safeguard.

Lights began to glow around the top of the ceiling and he got to see the jedi for the first time since she had knelt down and helped him. She was younger than him. Her face was slender and her neck was svelte as well, but her cloak was deceiving to what the rest of her figure looked like. With what the apprentice could generally see, her hands, face, and neck were finely sculpted. Her cloak seemed to swallow her figure so indeed she was slender-like. Her jedi presence within earshot of his sensitivity to the force was intimidating to him. He was impulsively hateful towards her, but he kept it suppressed for the sake of his professional presentation.

"Sorry about the rain. It was a distraction. It's a good conversation starter with the locals. They talk about it for weeks," the jedi explained through a smile. Her white teeth effulgently lit up her dark face. Her nexu resided on top of her feet, softly breathing. "It's one of my more irritating abilities," she confessed in a rather demure tone.

The nexu was massive and its tail was very lengthy. It was nice that the elevator was so large. The jedi was more than two arms lengths away from the young apprentice. He wondered over to his left and leaned against the wall that was made to look like natural rock.

He glanced away, folding his conditioned arms. "Thanks for earlier. It's been a long time since I've been in that tight of a situation," he said looking back up at the jedi.

"No problem. I've not seen another jedi for months. My master disappeared about a year ago and I haven't seen her since," the young jedi sighed. She leaned back against the fake rock wall, rubbing the back of her neck in a worried manner.

"You're IS?" Galen inquired softly.

The jedi smiled again. "Yes," she said kneeling down to pet her nexu that groaned in pleasure, rubbing its head against her shins. "What is your purpose here?" she asked him. He could sense the valor in her voice. It reminded him of himself. It just…wasn't for the same cause.

"I've come to seek help. I need those who know how to fight the empire. I need contacts that are against its reign," he disclosed looking over at her with his dark brown eyes.

"I'd be more than glad to help. That's what I do around here," the jedi said standing up. "I was drawn here for some reason or another through the force. I've managed to evade capture because of this for this long, but now that the bar scum and Adria have seen you," the jedi said rolling her eyes, "neither one of us is safe. Are you here for some other reason?" she asked oddly. "If you've had an animal companion of yours stolen by this city's arena sponsors I can help you to find it."

Galen looked at her with attention. "Yes, actually, I have," he said shifting over to her. He composed his enthusiasm about the plausibility that Ferine just might be under his very nose. Also it was coming across so easily for him at the moment for his plan. "He was taken from me several months ago. I don't know where he is right now," Galen informed her.

The young jedi nodded. "What is your companion?" she asked.

"He's a guarala stallion. Trust me; you'll know him when you see him. You might hear him first, even."

The jedi smiled once more. "Follow me," she told him as the elevator came to a stop before a long corridor lit by mounted lamps on the wall. A blue hue of light entered the cavity of the elevator.

Galen allowed the Nexu to get its space between him and the jedi before he ventured out into the long hall after her. Animal-like growls, whoops, howls and screams reverberated off the walls very faintly in the tunnel. They came from deep within. The young apprentice would have to make sure he did not slip up any information about his true whereabouts.


	5. Chapter 5

"Be very careful once we get to the cells. There are other people down here watching their animals and they might try to pawn them off on you. Feel free to make your point clear that you don't wish to be bothered. Your lightsaber should be enough," the young jedi explained to Galen, generously. "I'm sorry that you had to meet Adria. You're not her first encounter. Most of the minds she attacks surrender to her will. You, however, did not," she said looking over her shoulder at him.

"Hopefully we don't see her again. She has some sort of mind binding powers similar to that of a jedi," the young apprentice said dryly, glancing up at a pipe that passed overhead. A four-legged creature scurried along it, squeaking. Galen looked away with disinterest.

"You've not seen the last of her. She doesn't give up that easily. She has no self-respect whatsoever. I've had personal contact with her on more than one occasion," the jedi said softly. "We cannot linger here for too long. She might be down here."

The young apprentice sighed softly. Wonderful. He was dreading another encounter with the female alien. Sadly, he couldn't kill her now because the jedi was present unless, it was absolutely necessary to do so.

The nexu walked beside its young master, brushing up against her left side. Its long tail waded to and fro. The jedi patted her friend's shoulders speaking indistinctly to it.

"What's its name?" came Galen's curious tone.

"Aminah," the jedi replied. "She's not always docile. Every once in a while she decides to test my patience."

The young apprentice smiled softly recalling his relationship with Ferine. The stallion was a nuisance a majority of the time. Of course, he obeyed when Galen needed him to, but if they weren't on a mission, the stallion was defiant.

After a few minutes of walking down the long corridor, the trio began to pass barred cages on either side of their path. Beasts snarled, shifted, growled, and lunged at them from behind them. The hall smelt like animals. Urine, defecated substances, and oily flesh were the smells of the underground community. Galen wasn't bothered too much by it. He had to muck Ferine's stall every day. There were countless tunnels and cages with animals in them. The whole underground was a big grid. A bluish over tone covered all objects and surfaces from the lights that lined the ceiling. It was almost hypnotic.

The young jedi remained calm and sober. She didn't make eye contact with any of the acrid aliens that walked about or sat before cages. They wisely moved out of her way and his way. He made no effort to put his light saber on display. He stayed close to the jedi and no one even looked after him. The nexu drew back her ears and the black spikes on her back bristled as she warned individuals that got too close.

"The new arrivals are back here," the jedi's voiced stoutly to override the animal-like sounds and Aminah's loud snarls.

Galen listened closely, composing his temper. He tried to force himself to think about nothing so he would be completely surprised about Ferine's condition. At the least, he'd be able to react from scratch and make it seem authentic. But, then, perhaps, anger might be acceptable for Ferine was something he cherished and held close, not that he wouldn't feel anything upon seeing Ferine in a poor state. He suddenly ran into the young jedi and her companion's haunches. He backed away murmuring an apology. The nexu released a surprised grunt, glancing over its shoulder at Galen.

"Why have we stopped?" he asked in a soft tone.

The jedi narrowed her eyes. She slowly sidestepped to her right, down an alternate path. "Your friend is down here, but he's being watched right now by the men that have claimed him as theirs. Follow me, we cannot be seen by your friend. It will put us all in danger," she said softly.

Galen started after her and her companion, but paused to study the hall ahead of him before he turned away. There was nobody any further down this hall. How did she surmise such a thing? There was no talking from anyone either. The jedi was peculiar in her ways and timing, but it worked for her and for him. He shook his head and walked after her. An acoustic, angered shrill, tore across the walls of the underground. Galen found the young Jedi in a resting area by an empty set of cages. It was just a little space that was cut out cleanly from a wall where one could spread out and rest, waiting for the next arena match and clearance from the authorities. Her nexu lowered herself down along the entrance way to seal it off from anyone who might get curious.

"That was him," the young apprentice confirmed.

"Come in," the Jedi told him and he stepped over the nexu's head.

He was pulled back as the nexu reached out and playfully detained him by his left leg with a claw-extended paw. The jedi spoke in a sharp hiss, wrapping the nexu on the forehead. The beast let out a playful grunt, batting at the Jedi's hand as she pulled it away.

"No, Aminah! Be still, now!" she said softly. The nexu was put into obedience as it picked up footsteps from the direction it faced. There were more than human and humanoid feet shuffling on the stone floor. The clicking off claws bounced off the walls softly. It was quite a ways away.

"Feer," Galen whispered to himself.

The young jedi studied him as he focused, hard, down the hallway. She was almost gone, infused with the dark corner. Her dark cloak, hair, and skin gave her advantage to being invisible in the dark.

"Easy, Aminah," the jedi said in a heavy tone, observing her nexu propping herself up into an erect position. She still remained on her belly. It was one with drawn back ears, and constant swallowing as growl after growl was emitted from her throat.

"Are they coming this way?" Galen asked the Jedi, experimenting with her mysterious abilities. Not in a cruel way, just out of inquisitive means. He wanted to know exactly what the jedi was naturally equipped with. How did she function?

He could hear men talking, but neither advancing nor departing footsteps. Every once in a while he heard a guarlara's prideful neigh in refusal to submit. One he was all too familiar with. It fearfully vexed him to know that the men that handled the beast would not be able to make him obey no matter what they tried. Only unless they heavily sedated the animal. It wasn't the men he was afraid for it was his mount. Galen stood across from the young jedi. He was facing the right way with the nexu to see what she saw, but he saw nothing. The group had to be down another hallway.

The jedi could sense Galen's anxiety. "Compose yourself," she said to him softly. "If they come this way, you have to be very calm. It's not like a jedi to be angry or fretful," she educated him, unknowingly, for the first time.

The young apprentice sighed and leaned against the wall, masterfully changing his attitude. He folded his conditioned arms over one another. The jedi moved to the edge of the rest area.

"They're down another hallway to the left. They're having trouble with the animal. He's very high-spirited," she commented.

Galen sighed looking away. "He is. That's what might get these men killed," he remarked.

"Why do you say that? He's a guarlara," the jedi stated looking over at the young man with her dark eyes.

He looked at her with a scoff. "He's a stallion," the apprentice slightly laughed, raising his right hand off his left arm. "I expected someone like you to know about such behavior!"

The jedi nodded in agreement. "Point taken. I presume he hasn't ever been handled by anyone else...ever?" she said pulling back into the darkness.

"No," the apprentice answered flatly.

"I guess I just figured you would have had him castrated. A stallion as a companion seems like an extreme lifestyle," the jedi commented. "Aminah, come get by me, they're coming."

The nexu shot up on her feet with an angry hiss. A low chuckle came a ways from down the hall.

"Looks like someone has a nexu," a gruff voice expressed from down the hall.

"My style is a little extravagant," Galen admitted coolly. "I need a companion who can fight alongside me very effectively. If I'm not around I want him to defend himself." "Besides, jedi, you have a predator as a pet." the apprentice countered. He glanced down at the growling nexu.

"That can't be, you fool! Nobody can tame a nexu!" Was the irritated response to the gruff voice.

The dark jedi's eyes moved up into the hallway.

"Look up, tail-head! It's right there!"

Aminah moved into the cutout. She rubbed against Galen's lower body before she placed her head against the jedi's shins, lying down. Her tail lay across Galen's feet, gently twitching and thumping against them.

"Yes, I do, but not by will necessarily. Hopefully, you're not offended by her "touchy" nature," the jedi observed. "She likes you, which doesn't happen very often with new people I meet."

"That's nice to know," Galen said in relief. He wondered about the jedi's words.

"See! There's nothing there! I think you've been doing too many strange, new drugs."

"Here they come," the jedi whispered.

Galen sighed. The clicking of claws became closer and closer. They were definitely a guarlara's footsteps. He listened closely to them. They were not strong, confident steps. They were sluggish and morose. He had no idea how long Vader had had him in his mists. Ferine had never been away from him for such an extended period of time. The stallion would never have thought he would have deserted him. The young apprentice realized he was very close to the edge of the hole in the wall. Ferine would easily catch wind of his scent. He's probably been searching for it all this time. One whiff would set the stallion into a frenzy that could get them all killed.

"If he picks up my scent we'll be in deep trouble," Galen said in a low tone.

The jedi looked over at him. "Have one of them convince the others that they should go another way," she suggested. "But, stay hidden so your companion doesn't see you."

The young apprentice shook his head adamantly at the jedi. She immediately moved to the edge of the hole and peered around its edge. A white male twi'lek lead the way in front of four other humanoids that surrounded a beautiful, black beast that towered over them. The beast's deadly white horns and long tusks glinted in what light was in the tunnel. The guarlara dared time after time to resist and he was shocked for it by shock sticks set to their highest setting. The stallion protested in anger and exhaustion, kicking whomever was within reach. His head was firmly restrained with a spider web of leather attachments that rendered his neck immobile. His nostrils flared as he panted heavily in vexation and weariness.

A white male human turned to the animal he walked in front of. He chuckled and roughly patted the side of the stallion's wrapped cheek. Galen closed his eyes and clenched his right hand into a fist. He could hear his mount's heavy, vexed breathing and his grunts of pain.

"Easy," the jedi's soft, warm tone came to his ears and he opened his eyes to realize she was still there. He had completely gone elsewhere with his emotions and she wasn't there. Now she was. She was talking to him as she peered out from behind the wall. He came to his senses to see her dash out hurriedly and a little ways down the hall.

Her companion grunted inquisitively, rising to her haunches.

"Well, what do we have here? Oh! Its-"

"Hold your tongue, bar scum!" the jedi dismissed the white twi'lek folding her arms. "You can't come down here any further. My nexu hasn't eaten in 4 days. She's very hungry and I never did train her to not see everything breathing as a food source including," she dropped her arms, "myself. So, if you will, go...that way," she said and pointed behind the caravan to their back left.

The stallion remained remarkably calm through all of this. He was smart enough to see this as an opportunity to raise a hellish commotion and trample his cruel handlers, but he didn't. He curiously studied the female jedi, sensing her in the force. Something churned in his instincts that she was an enemy, but yet he thought not about attacking her. She wouldn't let him.

"You're awful young and female to be talking that way to five men!" the blonde haired leader announced loudly. His voice bounced off the walls of the tunnel, carrying on the air through its grid.

The jedi gave the blonde haired man her undivided attention .It was fearless, bold, and rather cocky.

He grunted in discomfort at her gaze. "And what are you going to do? We've got shock sticks."

Galen sighed softly, forcing himself to stay calm. Thoughts were racing through his mind. He suddenly looked up as Aminah tore out of the hole to aid her master. The men let out cries of alarm as the massive beast galloped up to them. The jedi threw back her right hand and the predator stopped dead in its tracks, dispassionately staring the men down.

"That gesture is a full 25 percent effective only 30 percent of the time. Can't hold it for long," she briskly warned the men. She stared the stallion down to keep his impulsive instincts to defend his ground from registering.

Galen was very fascinated at the jedi's developed ability. It was very advanced. Especially advanced. Advanced enough to keep his murderous stallion that he couldn't even keep in obedience 100 percent of the time under control. How? He'd been with Ferine for the entire course of the stallion's life!

The white twi'lek fearfully grunted and turned to his group. "Do as she says, men. We don't have time or enough men to watch the stallion and handle a wild animal that could maul all of us twice as showily," he directed.

The jedi stayed put until every last one of the men disappeared from site around the corner, including the stallion, his tail, and his handler. Aminah turned sideways to see Galen dart out of the hole, and down the hall. He disappeared around a corner. She growled after him loudly. The jedi turned around inquisitively.

"Aminah?"

The nexu looked at her and hissed.

"Great!" the jedi the groaned and she ran past Aminah who cantered after her to find the young apprentice.


	6. Chapter 6

"Jedi!" The young woman shouted. She passed hall after all without any results. Her companion jogged at her heels, sampling the air for the young man's scent.

"I should have asked him his name! Now I can't find him," she digressed and stopped. She ran her hand back over her fluffy black hair in despair. "Why would he run off like that?" she asked herself, quietly.

"You can't run from me, Jedi!" protested a deep, sultry, female voice. It carried lightly in the air.

"Oh," the young jedi sighed, "that's why." She was off in an instant. She plucked her light saber from inside her cloak. Its sheering hum pierced the acoustic atmosphere of the tunnels. "Out of my way!" she panted to the obstacles of people that bared themselves in her path. "You don't want to hinder me," she warned them. Aminah followed close behind her master, but not too close. She stayed clear of the light saber blade. Resting humanoids shied closer to their walls as the hum and blinding light of the pink light saber sped past their position.

The young apprentice sought madly to find the female alien. He ripped his light saber from his belt and its shearing hum warmed his backside in the cool tunnel he circled in. It was free from cages. He had no threats to worry about, except the witch of an alien that probed his mind.

"Where are you?" he snarled out loud.

"Inside your mind," she crooned. "You seem to have some dark secrets," she commented.

Galen clenched his teeth and adamantly shook his head. "Get out of my head, witch!" he yelled crossly, bearing down the long tunnel. Strange thoughts goaded his mind, speaking to him, chastising him, and guessing at what he knew. The alien had passed his tolerance level with her audacity. Now his resentment fueled his search for her. He made sure she was aware of it

"That's it! Come find me! You're very angry! It's too bad I'll have to tranq you again. I'm so close to finding out what you're hiding," she crooned in his mind.

"She's down here," the young jedi panted as she rounded a corner. "Jedi! Do not seek her out! She's most likely not alone!" she caveated, hoping her voice would carry through the tunnels.

Galen considered her tone, pausing in his run. He could handle himself with multiple enemies at once. His development in the force enabled him to send armies cascading out into space or into walls with ease. His habit of killing anything that bothered him was his impulse, but with the jedi present he could not pull it off or risk it.

"No-no! Don't! Reconsider! I'm almost through! You'll have to slay me with that red, hot lightsaber of yours!" the alien's voice spieled in his mind.

The young apprentice stayed put until rapid footsteps bounced over to his position. The young jedi shot out from around a corner, followed by her nexu. It released a delighted growl upon seeing him. The red blade that heated his backside kissed the air with its good-bye, receding back into his hilt. He watched the jedi approach him slowly. She closed her eyes, raising a single hand out to him. The thoughts in his mind dissipated entirely. The zeltron's link was severed, never again to re-connect. He blinked several times at the sudden relief he felt.

"She won't bother you anymore. Is that why you ran?" she asked him, stopping at a respectful distance.

The young apprentice looked down at the nexu who curiously inspected him. "Yes and no," he confessed. "Let's move on. I don't really want to meet her in person again."

The young jedi lead the way out of the underground. They mounted a different elevator and headed back up to the surface.

"The arena is located somewhere else entirely. Do you have a ship?" the young jedi asked.

Galen nodded.

"We'll have to fly about 30 miles to the north of the city. It's not that far, but it's where the arena is located. In order to get your companion we'll have to either enter the arena matches ourselves or just steal him before or after his appointment to fight."

"I'd prefer if we got him back before a fight."

"Right," the jedi concurred. She knew a few things that she wanted to ask the young apprentice, but she decided not yet. She didn't want to offend him in any way.

The elevator came to a soft stop and its doors opened to reveal a misty cityscape. The trio stepped out onto the tarnished chrome of Nar-Shadda. The young apprentice raised his right wrist up to his mouth.

"Juno, track my location. I need pick-up,"

"Copy that," came her accented voice.

"Your pilot's a female? That's very interesting," the jedi commented.

The young apprentice led the way. "She's fared better than my previous pilots," he stated, fondly of her.

The jedi smiled warmly. Oh? What happened to his other pilots, exactly, she wondered. How rash was this kid? "Is your animal companion very...temperamental?"

The young man scoffed. "Always," he responded without looking back at her. "Why would you ask?"

"I could sense him through the force," she explained and stopped herself from saying anymore.

The young apprentice stopped in his tracks, turning sideways to face the young jedi. He was at an edge on the chrome road. His countenance became defensive.

"How much do you know?" he asked suspiciously in a tone that was no longer liberated.

The young jedi sighed, tolerably of the young man's attitude that had reared into a privy mode. "Enough," she rigidly disclosed, folding her arms.

The wind blew softly, peeling back her cloak. Galen saw her entire svelte figure for the first time. Her legs were beautifully sculpted and long. They were slender and uncovered up to a very short pair of jade green-cowled shorts that lead his eyes up to her torso. A cowled tank top-like tunic covered her upper body. It was a dark jade green. A loincloth like drapery descended down her front to her ankles in front and in back starting at her pelvis. It was a true jade green. She surely was not from this planet and it was a wonder she wasn't freezing. The air was hard and cold.

"I'm not your enemy. Your ship's here anyway. I can see you don't want me talking anymore so I'll lock my jaws," she acknowledged and looked away.

The young man opened his mouth to confront the jedi, but as he did the hiss of his ship's engines pulsated in his ears.

The Rogue Shadow rose up into view and floated down to the very edge of the road. It hovered, consciously over the road and lowered its docking ramp. The young apprentice gestured to the ramp with a flick of his head. "Get on," he said dryly.

The jedi entered, her nexu, and then him. The young apprentice took his place in the front passenger seat of his ship next to the beautiful blonde pilot who maneuvered the ship high into the air. The jedi stood behind Galen's seat with her arms crossed.

"Go north 30 miles, Juno," Galen directed his companion. She nodded turning the ship away from the city, shooting into the high atmosphere.

"Um, master, there seems to be a wild animal in our midst," came Proxy's informing tone. "Fascinating, it seems very docile."

The young apprentice turned in his seat to see the nexu inspecting his lifelong friend, intelligently.

"Yeah, just don't taunt her. She's otherwise friendly," he assured the robot who walked away from the nexu. The nexu playfully batted after his being to find the robot was not going to return the favor. She groaned, turning to her master. Juno sharply twisted around in her chair upon hearing the beast's disappointed vocalization.

"Wha-"

"It's all right, Juno," Galen said indifferently to the alarmed pilot. He stared out into the monotonous atmosphere of Nar Shadda. "IS has agreed to help us fight the empire," he contentedly informed the pilot.

Juno turned around with a relieved sigh. 'IS'?" she echoed.

"She's a jedi I ran into. She got me out of a tight bind down at the bar. I have yet to find Master Kota," he said folding his arms.

IS watched him. She turned away and moved over to Aminah who sensed her displeasure. The nexu raised a massive paw to stop her from going any farther. The jedi lowered her hands to catch the three-toed paw in her slender hands. "It's all right, fuzz-butt," she said softly, kneeling before the large beast. The nexu rubbed her broad face across her breast and the jedi embraced the nexu's fluffy neck and head.

"Do you know where he'll be?" inquired Galen in a dry tone, turning to the jedi.

She stood erect. "Yes," she said. She said no more.

Galen just stared at her. "Where?" he asked sharply.

"I don't know!" the jedi replied rather crossly. "I can find him. I have my ways. Stick to yours," she clotted in his curiosity. She departed in the same direction Proxy had, leaving through a doorway. The nexu growled, drawing back its ears in vexation. She followed the young jedi, briskly.

Galen groaned in rue turning back around. He guiltily rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Something wrong?" Juno prompted the young apprentice.

He folded his arms once more. "She knows," he said very softly.

"About what? Us?"

"No, not us. Ferine. She knows what he is," he said demurely.

"What are you going to do?" Juno asked softly looking at Galen.

He looked at over at her. "I-I don't know...I don't know how much she knows. She's not absent minded. I don't know how she knows, but she does and if she goads me anymore she's not going to live," he whole-heartedly revealed to his companion.

The pilot sighed watching the apprentice as he propped his legs on the dash of the ship and composed himself into relaxation.

"That's what I'm afraid of," she said to herself and directed her attention to their flight path. Hopefully, the young woman didn't know who or what they were.


	7. Chapter 7

The young jedi realized that she had said far too much. She was very generous by nature and this was the consequence of it. Now the young apprentice had put up a brick wall and she feared she wouldn't be on good terms with him from this point on. She buried her head in the sleeves of her cloak as she sat at the small table outside of the cockpit.

Aminah sat peering over the edge of the table at her master. She groaned in concern.

"Aminah, shut up," the jedi groaned in exasperation at her fretul friend.

The nexu snarled stubbornly and the jedi sat up with her head in her hands. "Its nothing! Go...do something else," she sighed.

The beast grunted, dropping down onto the floor, folding her forepaws over one another resolutely. She held her head high.

The young jedi buried her face again. "I said too much," came her muffled digress. "Hopefully he's not hiding something and its only just because I know what his companion is. I couldn't have possibly missed it, myself. No...here he comes," she whined so softly it was undetectable.

Furtive foot steps exited the cockpit and settled in the commons area.

"You know that I know so speak," came a fearless young man's resolute command.

The young jedi lifted her head and she looked up into the sober face of the young apprentice who stood with his conditioned arms folded, expectantly.

"He's a sith spawn," she satisfied him.

"How do you know?" Galen asked. He would not let her stay silent until he figured out how much she knew.

"I know because I have the ability to sense such things in animals. Sadly, not in people though. Not yet anyways," she sighed. "That and Aminah was one," she confessed grabbing her black hair.

The young apprentice glanced down at the large beast on the cool floor who looked up at him with its red eyes. He looked away in thought.

"I cleansed Aminah of her sith spawn nature. Now, the only thing that she functions by his her original instincts as a nexu. Her modifcations, however, remain in effect," the jedi finished.

"How did you obtain her?" Galen asked.

"There were dark jedi who had started a cult. They practiced sith alchemy and they were trying to recruit new hands to wield armies of perverted beasts that they altered with the magic. I've been a canidate since I was very young and I didn't even know it. They released Aminah at me as a set up. She was supposed to lead me to them, but I naturally tried to tame her. I sensed the dark side in her nature. It was very strange and new to me. I had her completely tame without even knowing it. The cult tracked me down and they attacked. My master aided me in fighting them off. I got to keep Aminah. I had become attatched to her on the first day. Jedi aren't supposed to have belongings," the jedi scoffed, moving out of the seating area and down onto the floor by the domesticated predator.

"What do you mean?" Galen asked curiously.

"Its forbidden for Jedi to form attatchments because it can lead to the dark side and distract them from their service in the order. My master had the same abilities as I and she wanted to start a special force of jedi that had special permission to keep animals as compaions to use against the growing cult. The cult kept attacking with animals that could easily out wit a jedi squad. The creaures could do this without recieving a scratch. The order denied her request and she dropped her duty taking refuge else where in the universe to accomplish her ideas. She's always been loyal to the order. Now, she's gone and I have no master to help me figure out how to fight this," the jedi explained.

"That rules me out," Galen commented.

"No, you're in," the jedi corrected him. "You'd be in with my training or very similar to it since you work with an animal.

"Starkiller, where do you want me to land?" arose Juno's question.

Galen shifted to the cockpit doorway.

"Wait!" the jedi cried, standing. "You don't want to land just any where," she said shooting up, hurrying to the cockpit.

Galen remained where he was in thought. To his relief the jedi hadn't had the opportunity to ask him where he got Ferine. He wouldn't make an invitation for the question until he had plenty of time to sum up a background story. He had yet to explain Ferine's uncanny ability to wield force lightning. Perhaps, the jedi would be accepting of this truth because he did not posess such a finely focused ability in the force to completely retrain the beast's inborn abilities. He just hoped she would not suspect him of being a dark jedi.

The young apprentice entered the cockpit to find Juno landing the ship on an old, overgrown landing platform. Up ahead of the ship was a heavily overgrown path that lead into a jungle.

"We have to go through there?" Galen questioned in surprise.

"Yes, but its a little thick. I'm sure we'll be all right. Juno will be safe here. Nobody knows about this place, but me. We'll enter an old loading hanger, under the arena. We'll have full access to caged animals. Stay close to me though because they are never happy," the jedi said enthusiastically.

"We'll have to be quick. Hopefully the empire isn't patrolling this area. Ferine's been trained to neutralize them especially," Galen stated. "Let's go," he said and departed from the cockpit.

IS followed after him.

"Juno, stay put. If anyone gets near, take off and I'll call in to find your position," Galen shouted as the ramp to the Rogue Shadow slowly fell to the ground.

Aminah shot down the ramp in a crazed frenzy, dashing into the jungle.

"Aminah!" IS sharply wrapped after the Nexu. She released a frustrated groan. "I knew she'd do that! Now I won't know where she is until she finds me!"

The young apprentice drew his lightsaber, hacking out a comfortable trail for them to walk through. There was a trail, but it was barely detectable without hacking away over hanging vegetation. "Until she finds you?" came his delayed echo.

"She likes to play, on duty, so be aware that she might tackle you from above somewhere. Either you and me seperately, or both. She's never does the same thing everytime. I hate that," IS sighed.

Galen grinned. "I'll be waiting for her," he said confidently.

IS giggled. "You've never been stalked by a magically enhanced nexu before. This'll be interesting."

Galen scoffed. "Your pet has no idea how hard I play," he retorted.

"Just watch out for her teeth and claws. Otherwise than that she can take kicks, punches, and force blasts from anyone."

Galen raised an eyebrow. "What about lightsaber burns?" he inquired rather vindictively.

IS did not reply. She silently grinned. Galen chuckled.

"I see," he said continueing to slash through the thick undergrowth.

It wasn't possible that her nexu had never been burned by lightsaber. She had to occasionally burn the animal in sparring sessions and had to. The animal wouldn't risk getting sliced open with a hot lightsaber blade. The sound and the heat it emitted should caveat the animal's instincts. Maybe he was making this harder than it was? But he couldn't be because not even his cocky stallion would attack head on if he knew that he would not hesitate to slice open his sleek coat.

The two trudged on for almost a full mile.

"How much further?" Galen asked glancing over his shoulder to see that IS was no longer behind him at all. He suspiciously looked around, instinctively reversing his grip on his saber. "IS?" he said in a normal tone, listening sternly for any signs of ambush from either the jedi or her pet. He heard nothing. He sensed nothing. "IS?" he called impatiently. "Trust me, you don't want to ambush me. You'll only get hurt," he threatened knowing that the jedi wouldn't be spieled away by fear of his skills. She was confident herself. She was still a padawan, but then he was still in training himself.

He really wondered when she had stopped following him. He heard nothing. Of course that was the whole point of stealthfully sneaking away, but was she that furtive, even in the force? If she was he had to rethink his strategy. He welcomed the challanege seeing no other way out. He was going to be pounced on no matter what and IS might even be part of it. A loud bellow crooned in distress far ahead of him. It was metal that hadn't been oiled in a while. He was close. Perhaps IS was up ahead opening the backway into the arena. He sighed and felt his armed hand shift in wieght. His blade glitched and died. He whipped around to see nothing. Galen's eyes scaled his hilt. It was shaken and poked at, but it would not revive again from his efforts.

The red eyes watched him with pleasure. The dark jedi now became aware that something wasn't right. A grunt escaped his lips as his front met the soft dirt floor. He felt razor sharp talons dig into his backside.

"I don't play with good nature, feline!" the apprentice spat, releasing a massive shockwave of the force from his being.

A surprised wail carried through the air and leaves rustled over head as his attacker was launched into the trees. Galen bounced up, circling. Aminah's familiar growl carried down from the trees over head. Galen tried to ignite his lightsaber again and it revived. Her saw the nexu explode out from above without a sound. He drew up his saber before him, defensively. The nexu did not stop her dive. She reached out and struck his hot blade with her claws and it shorted out once more. The young apprentice emended his now set disadvantage by blowing the nexu away ineffectually with a powerful force blast. The nexu learnedly countered it, by catching herself in the air. She landed before him on the path. The black spikes on her back arose and her fur bristled as she crouched, boldly growling at him.

"So that was you? How-"

He dropped to the ground, under the nexu that now sailed over his position. He reached up to grab its body with the force, but the feline predicted this and struck his face with her long tail. He recoiled in response. The nexu latched on to a massive tree off the path, looking over her shoulder at the young apprentice. The young apprentice clenched his fists and swung them as if he were tossing a frisbee at the nexu. Sharp yet soft sound vibrations reached the nexu's ears and she darted off the tree as sharp sheering blades of the force sliced into its thick trunk. The tree remained standing, but yet it still voiced splintering and snapping. The nexu dissapeared and the young apprentice glanced up to locate the danger he was hearing. A thick branch began to sag over head about 16 feet up. Soon an uproar of snapping arose around him and he fled in his original direction. Tree limb after tree limb heavily dripped out of the sky nearly hitting him or blocking his way. He leapt, jumped, and richoceted off of nearby trees to avoid them. He dashed out into a clearing, airborne. This had to be the nexu's doing.

Aminah roared as she flew at him from his left, out of the vegetationl The apprentice activated his lightsaber and threw it at the beast with all of his might. The nexu deflected the rapidly spinning lightsaber blade, killing its current once more by striking it with her long black claws. The saber dropped to the ground and the apprentice was tackled out of the air. He struck a round, metal door that lay parallel to the ground, heavily denting it. He kicked the nexu off of him and the metal surface rung as a figure landed on it. It stood over him with a bright lightsaber blade pointed in his face. He froze to gather his surroundings.

"There you are," he said in relief. "I was beginning to think you decided to play, on duty," he said with a grin. The pink blade receded out of his face and he picked himself up to meet the smile of the young female jedi.

"I was wonderig how long it would take you to notice I was gone. I've still got it," she said proudly, hopping off the metal door. "You didn't do the door justice," she stated to the young apprentice that obsevered its location while still standing on it. Before him a large black hole in the ground emitted cool air and the acoustic squeaks of filthy beasts that dwelled in its stomach.

"So, this is our entrance?" he asked squatting before it on the metal door.

"Yes, getting in isn't a problem. It'll just be getting back out. I'm sure your companion can cover ground pretty good," the jedi stated.

"Let's go," the young man engaged, leaping into the dark hole.

"C'mon, Aminah, and don't tackle me this time," IS warned the nexu as she somersaulted into the dark hole. The nexu grumbled to hersellf, following after her young master.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey!"

The young apprentice turned around inquiringly. His dark brown eyes searched for the source of the voice as they adjusted to the change in lighting.

The young jedi approached him with his light saber in her left ebony hand. As she held it up to him her cloak sleeve fell back past her wrist.

"You forgot this. You're very distracted right now," she commented to him, consolingly, as he took it from her hand and turned away without a response.

The young jedi watched him and sighed, following after him. Her companion's padded feet met the cool, dark floor with a soft PAT. The Nexu's eyes immediately adjusted to the seemingly pitch black darkness. She let out a weary growl.

"Aminah, it'll be fine, trust me. We're helping him find his pet," IS said softly as the environment around her became visible. The underground tunnel lay in ruins. Rubble lined the surrounding path they traversed.

Aminah's ears flickered as she picked up the sounds of other animals that were furtive to the human's ears. However, the young jedi could hear them quite clearly.

"Do you know where he is?" the young man asked softly as they walked. Their steps reverberated off the walls of the ruined tunnel.

"No...not yet," the jedi sighed. "This underground tunnel goes on for quite a ways. All I hear are feral animals that crawl. Not very intelligent as your guarala would be."

The young apprentice scoffed.

"We are, however, being followed."

"How? I sense nothing wrong," came the young man's acumen.

"Of course you don't. There's nothing wrong with Aminah following us," the jedi replied.

The young apprentice contemplated the comment for a moment in silence then sighed soberly.

"Come on, it was supposed to be funny. I apologize, we should be focused on what's ahead. It was just to lighten up the mood."

The nexu growled offensively charging ahead of the two force users. She stopped sideways in front of the apprentice with a growl. Her red eyes stared up at him. The young man stopped in his tracks, reading the creatures eyes and body language patiently. His brown eyes wondered up to the ceiling that was enveloped in vines. A shearing hum pierced the cool, still air of the tunnel, chasing the darkness away with a bright red light. The apprentice maneuvered his light saber to a convenient position at the ceiling in his right hand. He held it with his preferred reverse grip. The nexu stared up at him and hissed softly.

"Aminah, you worry too much," the young jedi chastised her pet. The nexu snarled in hurt, starting back over at her master. The young jedi backed away, defending herself from the nexu's massive, swiping forefeet at her thighs. She smiled with a soft chuckle. "what?" she said defensively.

The apprentice spotted a creature tangled in the overhanging vines. He became conscious of its small cries and frustrated growls. With precise calculation he ran his light saber across the ceiling, shredding the oppressive forces of nature which hindered this animal. The red blade receded back into its hilt upon the apprentice suddenly opening his hands to catch it. The animal weakly shifted in the apprentice's hands. He studied it, curiously. It was soft. Very soft to his tense hands. It had large eyes and many legs. Eight to be exact. He treated them with care. They were incredibly fragile.

The young Jedi shushed her companion's playful snarls and swipes. The nexu snuck one last smack on her thigh with a fore paw. As she circled around the young woman she stumbled awkwardly by the returned favor of the jedi's right leg intentionally skimming under all four of hers. After this incident the nexu was silent. She wasn't done yet with getting vengeance.

The animal's body was round. The soft fur, profusely jutted out to the knuckles of his right hand and it fit snugly in the palm of his hand. The animal had fan shaped tufts on the end of its stalk-like ears. Its tail was a fan shape as well. He couldn't tell what color it was in the darkness. He clenched his hand as the animal nearly fell out of it. Upon doing so he felt its true stucture underneath its fur.

"Its starving," came his voice. "Its pathetic," he sighed in sorrow.

"Its been up there for a while. Its a voorpak. They're nocturnal animals. It can see just fine in the dark here. Sadly, it got in unfamiliar territory and stranded there. I don't have any food with me," the jedi ruefully disclaimed.

The young man righted the weak animal on top of its legs. Its legs naturally folded under it where it's body fully concealed them. The fur warmed the apprentice's hand.

"Someone's coming!" IS hissed suddenly.

The apprentice instinctively took shelter behind a massive stone pillar, enclosing the voorpak in his hand, securely. The jedi met him there and crouched. He remained standing turned sideways against the pillar.

"Where's your animal?' he asked softly.

"She's...apparently taken her own cover elsewhere. That's not usual of her," the jedi answered, listening for more sounds.

A distant burst of laughter came from down the hall.

"The empire couldn't possibly find us here! You have no idea what you're saying! We have more to explore down here. I found this place several weeks ago. Its great. I smuggle black market beasts in here. I have one over there. She's a very prejudice nerf."

"Its bar scum. I would really like to know what in the world they are doing down here. Nobody has found this place but me. At least our exit is around the corner. The light from the forest can't be seen in this far.

The body of the animal gently expanded and retracted in the apprentice's hand as it breathed. He felt it gently bite his middle finger in a hungry manner. The bites became more prominent and forceful until the apprentice gently placed the animal in a small side pocket that was attached to a waist belt on his outfit. He closed the top of the pocket and secured it. It was heavy leather. The creature was too weak to be able to make it out of it. He felt it move inside the pocket in a panic. It cried out a few times in fear then was silent.

"Keep it quiet," the young man commanded the jedi.

IS gently touched the pack on the belt using the force to put the animal into a state of quiesence. It settled its shifting and rested itself.

"We'll have to take them out," the young man protested.


	9. Chapter 9

Galen absent mindlessly comforted the Voorpak in his pocket by stroking it repetitively. The voorpak seemed to enjoy being petted, making pleased noises inside its little shelter. He enjoyed the creature's soft texture and feel. The apprentice caught himself doing this and casually pulled his hand out of the leather bag.

IS studied him closely. Aminah obediently followed her master from behind. A familiar squeal pierced the cool air of the tunnel. It was one of refusal and impatience. Galen sighed softly in response. They were getting closer. It was not a thing he looked forward to.

"That's Feer," he said. "He's not happy. He won't be happy when he sees me either."

"Why's that?" the jedi inquired.

"Because I have you," the apprentice replied flatly.

The jedi grunted in slight offense. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"He'll try to kill you and if he does then he'll never let me forget it. You know what he is," the apprentice reviewed.

"I know and it fascinates me how you've managed to keep him under your control. I'm very surprised he hasn't completely turned on you. I'm sure he tests you everyday-all day," IS commented. "I will defend myself so don't worry about me. I'll only stop him if you can't. The first time I saw him I didn't get to see how bad he was. He is swelling with the dark side. You shouldn't even commune with such a creature."

The apprentice remained silent. For her part she was right, he figured, but for his, she was very wrong. He had become very attached to the stallion and they had been through a lot together, even under the tutelage of Vader and his mount. It was strange. The Dark Lord never seemed to ride his mount. He never went any where to ride it unless off world to find a fugitive. Since Galen's arrival many years ago Vader had stayed stationary more than ever. His mount was feral. Worse than Ferine. Worse than Ferine's name defined an animal or creature yet Vader still managed to control him perfectly. Even better than Galen could his own.

All these years and especially recently the apprentice had started to loose his rein over the stallion. His necessary cruelty in nature was being questioned by a new, prodding self-awareness. Juno was part of it and several of the Jedi he had come into contact with, including the one following him now. He was always more sensitive to his mount's instincts and fears than Vader ever was to his own mount. He could actually play fight with his stallion without the beast thinking it was in danger or taking offense to it. The stallion wanted to play, even at the wrong times and intervals. He couldn't get rid of the stallion. He was so use to handling the stallion's vindictive mannerisms and love bites. If the stallion changed it would be the end of everything as he knew it although....it would be nice if the stallion wasn't trying to kill the people he was supposed to be gathering for his master's plan.

"You're being very quiet," came the jedi's voice to his ears.

"I was just thinking," Galen confessed.

"How you are going to handle the stallion?''

"Yeah ,actually," the apprentice replied.

"Well, I can diagnose his temperament once we find him."

"How?" the apprentice asked doubtfully.

"Very carefully."

The apprentice scoffed. "You shouldn't even go into the same area as he when we find him."

"Why-"

"He's just that bad, trust me," Galen warned her, looking over his shoulder.

IS grinned. "I accept that challenge," she said coolly.

Galen stopped walking, turning to her.

"You're very rash, do you know that?" he stoutly commented with a frown.

"Oh, and you aren't, mister?" IS retorted with a raised eyebrow.

Aminah growled softly, pricking her ears to the direction ahead of them.

"Well, its about time, we've been walking forever,"Galen sighed. He picked up his pace again.

"We have to be very careful when going any further. The actual animal caging is down here. Its funny how nobody comes down this far," IS said on purpose.

"Enlighten me," came Galen's unimpressed tone.

The young jedi sighed at his attitude. She folded her slender arms. "Because of fictional animals."

"Fictional animals?" he echoed.

"Yes. Non existent animals. I can show you how, if you'd like," she offered him.

"How about not?" Galen dismissed. He could sense the Jedi's shrewd tone. Apparently he was annoying her in some manner and she was doing the same to him. "Look, let's just remain quite for the rest of the time. I'm really not in the mood, right now." All the while he suspected she was implying something. She seemed to be assured in everything she said. She did, after all, with hold the true whereabouts about Aminah's fighting habits. Speaking of which...

"Okay," she responded.

"You never did explain to me how the nexu could short out a lightsaber," Galen emended.

"Oh. I didn't did I? Any way Aminah's claws are made out of the Galaxy's hardest material that not even light sabers can cut through. Quantum Crystaline. She also has another ingredient in her claws that can short out a light saber's current temporarily. Its actually pretty annoying when your sparring with her," IS revealed, rubbing the nexu's left ear.

The large predator remained silent, leaning into the pleasant, scrubbing of her ear.

The apprentice suddenly desired the substance, but he flushed the thought, realizing that such a matter was rare and there was no getting to it. It would be out of the way of his current mission anyways.

"Oh, no protest against that?" IS asked the animal. The nexu remained silent, savoring the rough scratch she was getting on the base of her ear. "Well, now I know what will keep you quiet."

IS stopped short of running into the apprentice's backside. He had balked in his walk for some reason. Six men were thrown out of an holding cell about 30 feet ahead, trailed by white lightning. They groaned a bit before standing up as the lightning subsided from their flesh. The apprentice was glad for their comeuppance of taunting his companion. It was basically the regular protocol for any creature that offended the evil beast. Ferine's audacity to generously share his umbrage made practically impossible for an unfamiliar person to get near him.

Two of the men hauled tail to get back up, forcefully closing the cell's barred doors before the creature behind them could get out. The locking of the bars filled the tunnel with a reverberating ring. Galen saw them dash backward as the bars rattled several times as they were forcefully struck by a powerful object.

"That creature needs to be put down," one grunted as he stood.

"No, he's too valuable," another defended.

"Well, we could at least get a blaster and shoot off those lovely points on the tip of his horns," commented one that was already erect on his feet.

The apprentice whirled around in alarm as a hard roar sent the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. A heated-eyed Bursa reared up slowly before him. Its hot breath struck his face. It towered over him a good four feet. He stared up at it for a split second before it threw itself down before him. He was forcefully knocked off of his feet to the left, into the darkness of the rubble of the hallway.

"Whoa! An animal's gotten loose!"

"Our blasters are back in the arena commons area!"

The six men hauled tail as the bursa ran heavily after them. As it passed countless animal cages the animals in them offensively threw themselves at the cage bars, swiping, snarling, and spitting after this beast that was thought to be invading their territory.

The young apprentice watched in fascination. He stood, studying the environment behind him. There were no cages where he and the young jedi had been coming from. Ferine's stall would have been the very first one they would have started to pass. He didn't take too much time to remain eluded by this occurrence. He rushed over to his companion's stall, whipping out his light saber and severing a nice exit for the stallion to walk through. With the force he gently disposed of the bars as not to alarm the timid beast with their sharp ring as they hit the floor. He eagerly stepped through the bars.

"Feer!" the apprentice gasped upon seeing his mount for the first time since he had been betrayed by his own master.

The stallion raised his great head in the darkness to the familiar voice, rather vigourously. His nostrils flared and his feet carried him weightlessly over to his master's front. Galen felt the stallion's warm snout push against him all over his front side. The stallion would blow warm air in his face , rear in the air with glee, then return to rubbing his head against the young man in delight. Galen stroked the unkempt forelock that had grown significantly since he had last seen the stallion. It was well past his nose now by at least half a foot.

Pleased nickers and whinnies escaped the stallion's throat and mouth as he greedily inhaled the scent of Galen. He had known it all of his life for the first time since he thought he was lost forever. Once the apprentice started to grasp the stallion's head in both hands the stallion held still. He nuzzled the young man's face with his soft muzzle. He burred lightly as the tense hands of the apprentice ran down both sides of his short, arched neck.

Galen walked around his mount's body to make sure he was in shape for an escape. THe stallion's mane was very long now and uneven. It never was even or clean cut like a royal mount on Naboo. It was taller than it was when he had last seen him. His hands ran along his mount's sculpted body, feeling for any nicks, cuts, wounds, and bones in or under his flesh. The stallion lowered his head to peer around his right side as his beloved master knelt and took up his hind foot in his hands. The stallion whisked his tail around to where it enclosed the apprentice as he knelt. Galen massaged the base of the stallion's feet to make sure they were undamaged.

The long feather about the stallion's legs sent tiny pins and needles sensations into the apprentice's hands as they ran down them. He was careful not to give the stallion any reason to kick him. It would not mean well for him. Electricity was being stored in the long hair about his legs and it was especially agitated. He had been emitting electricty quite often since the apprentice had last seen him. A sigh of sorrow escaped Galen's lips.

IS stood silently in the door way watching the apprentice. She was pleased to see him reunited with his companion. Aminah was out of sight for the moment. IS kept her presence hidden by the force. All the while she studied the stallion and searched his essence with the force. She had been right. The stallion was far worse than she could imagine. He was purely a feral beast. The only way the young man could be handling him would be if he knew a little bit about suppressing the evil nature of the beast. Then there were other options that she could consider for the young man and his whereabouts, but she didn't know for sure. So those options were discarded. The stallion displayed affection towards his master so he wasn't just a mindless beast.

TFU and Characters (C) LucasArts

Iruwa and original characters (C) FatWithFuzz


	10. Chapter 10

IS stood with her arms folded under her cloak. She leaned against the bars that still remained in tack outside of the cage. Her eyes were closed as she determined the recovery plan for the dark-side saturated stallion. He was unaware that she was probing him. He was too occupied with nuzzling his master as the young man finished up feeling his fetlocks for any lameness he might have received from the inexperienced care of the bounty hunters.

The young man stood on his stallion's right, front side, stroking the steed's dark neck as he went over to the bars of the cage. The stallion watched him and discovered IS standing where she was. He blew out of his nose as he became conscious of her light-side presence. He anxiously looked over to his master for directions on what to do, but the young man gave no indication of her as a threat. So the stallion waited, but not without the overwhelming urge to attack the young jedi he saw before him. She was an obvious enemy. Why didn't Galen see it too?

"He's got some remnants of a normal animal nature in him, but he's very salacious in his nature. He's got a temper as bad as a dark jedi. That's your problem with him isn't it?" IS inquired. Her dark eyes opened to the young apprentice.

"I've fared pretty well with his temperance," the apprentice disclosed. He gave no indication that he wanted anything to change.

The young jedi looked over at the stallion. His blue eyes blinked in uneasiness.

"He wants to neutralize me right now, but he will not without your consent. You have him trained to some degree. An animal with a harsh temper is difficult to control when you need them most. I'm sure you've had times where he would not listen to your voice."

"Yes. There's no way I can cool his temper no matter how hard I try. Even with your talent you couldn't either. No one can," the apprentice said turning away. He clicked his tongue at his stallion, but the stallion stay put.

IS knew better than to accept such teachings. There was always a way to fix something. Only if there was will power.

"Feer, c'mere," the apprentice ordered.

The stallion snorted in refusal.

"Feer, she is not a threat. Come."

The guarala burred in disagreement. Whatever Galen was doing it was not usual or normal. This jedi was there in real time and a threat to both of them. Why Galen hadn't attacked her was eluding him beyond reason. His nostrils flared in agitation and fear. He began to back away into the darkness of the cage with a weary nicker. He wanted to go to Galen, but she was there.

"He's afraid," the young man said in a puzzled tone.

"Is this not normal?"

"Uh, no. Its not. Not for him." He re-entered the cage to comfort his mount.

The stallion flattened his ears and the whites of his eyes flashed at the apprentice. Galen stopped where he was. The stallion was not happy with him nor was he comfortable with his behavior.

IS was sternly considering there was more to this stallion than was meeting the eye. He was worse than Aminah had been when she first saw the beast had been this way for a while.

"This is very serious," the jedi said softly. "Your mount is so wicked he now doesn't trust you since you trust me. He has the potential to betray you!"

"I am aware of that, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt," the apprentice allowed. He stretched out his hands toward the creature. He used the force to quiescent the corrupted nature of the stallion.

The beast yielded to Galen's attempt. He reluctantly came to the apprentice finally and hung his head over the young man's left shoulder as the right side of his neck was rubbed. He eyed the young jedi suspiciously.

This was his first time in meeting a dominating power that was greater than his own, besides Galen's. It actually abated it rather than challenge it. It rivaled Galen's. This jedi was a threat to his master and it was his duty to protect him, but she had already held him rigid when he had first seen her. She was not one to mess with.

The stallion hugged the apprentice's shoulder with his chin, looking away. The jedi recognized his bonafied display of respect towards her, but she would not let her guard down to the acrid desires of the animal towards her or his own master. She also had seen his use of force lightning, but she would not mention it unless it was brought up by the young man before her. However, the stallion needed to be abated in his mannerisms first, then she could unlearn the force lightning from the creature. It would not be easy.

Galen sensed a change in the stallion's atmospheric mood and body language. He felt the stallion relax in his posture.

"We need to get out of here before those men come back," IS advised to the young man.

She backed away as the young man exited the cage with the stallion following behind him. Galen was curious to know where the great beast had went that had knocked him off his feet. He had wondered if IS had seen it. He did not want to meet up with it again, however. It would upset his companion and distract them from their escape.

The young jedi walked ahead of the two re-united friends. The echoing clicks of the stallion's claws that were well over do for a trim soon became the familiar background noise of the tunnel.

"Where's the nexu?" Galen asked.

"Don't worry, she's outside right now. I'll have to figure out how they'll be working together," IS spoke over her shoulder. Her cloak billowed softly behind her.

Galen scoffed. "More like introduced to one another. That's not going to go well."

"Don't be so Pessimisitic! We'll make it go well. We're fighting the empire. We have to work together no matter what. Even if some of us don't like the other. Not naming any names," IS said in a low tone.

Galen softly grinned. "Did you see-"

"Yes," IS interrupted him. "I saw the Bursa. I created it to scare those men off."

The young man was confused. "How?" he asked.

"My dear boy," the young jedi said looking over her right shoulder. "With the force of course." She giggled. "I did try to tell you about the fictional animals. Sorry for knocking you sideways earlier. I wasn't expecting you to be so easy to knock over," the young woman said stifling a laugh.

"I'm not," the young apprentice scoffed. He reached back with is right hand, cuffing the muzzle of his mount in it briefly before the stallion pulled it away. "I'm not familiar with such manipulation of the force. It was there. I felt its warm breath on my face."

"I did a good job then," the young jedi gloated.

Galen scoffed again looking away. "Next time I'll take your word for it, jedi," the apprentice promised.

The young jedi smiled softly to herself.

TFU and Characters (C) LucasArts

Iruwa and original characters (C) FatWithFuzz


	11. Chapter 11

Juno lightly dozed at the commons area table in the rogue shadow. Her jacket had been draped over her chair in the cockpit. Her head was buried in her arms.

Proxy lively typed at the computer in the cockpit. He was searching for the whereabouts of the young jedi that had agreed to help the young apprentice. Nothing came up in the data base about her or anyone matching her description. The robot rubbed his chrome chin in puzzlement. Of course he hadn't heard her name. She was very smart not to give out her name in the first place.

"Juno...Juno come in."

Proxy casually arose and went over to the intercom in the console center between the captain's chair and the passenger chair.

"Master?"

Juno gasped softly as she pulled herself, hurriedly out from the table. The pilot jogged over to the cockpit entrance placing her hands on the door frame. Her bright blue eyes lit up at hearing the apprentice's voice.

"Proxy? Proxy, where's Juno?"

"I'm here," she spoke and the droid moved aside as she placed herself back in her seat. "I'm here," she repeated. "Did you find him?"

"Yeah, I found him. Prepare the ship for launch in case we need a quick getaway. We'll head back to the bar area in the city to find Kota."

"Eclipse out." The pilot sat down in her chair, rapidly pressing buttons and pulling a few levers.

"Its good to hear my master still alive. The stallion hasn't killed him yet," the droid delightedly voiced.

"I was wondering about why the stallion would want to do that," Juno shared.

"Oh, he's programmed to as a sith mount. Master manages to keep him at bay on that note."

The trio rounded the corner to see the white light of the outdoors pouring into the darkness. The stallion's nostrils flared in delight as he inhaled the outside air, noisily.

"He hasn't even been outside since I've last seen him. Who knows how many fights they've put him in."

"Well, he is still alive, isn't he?"

"Yes, but now I'm stuck with him," the apprentice grudgingly voiced.

"I thought you were happy to see him. He's very happy to see you."

The two partners stopped short of the hole itself. The jedi circled around rapidly, looking for something. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Slipping rubble echoed into the tunnel. The stallion nickered in unsureness, pressing against the young apprentice.

"Feer, its okay. Stay calm," the apprentice comforted the great stallion that had formerly been fearless even in the most dire circumstances. He reached over his left shoulder and patted the stallion's muzzle. It was the jedi that was putting him off.

The stallion had never been with him when he had confronted a jedi. The stallion had never had to fight one or be present with one either. Now he was and the stallion was rendered almost useless. Galen came to realize that the darkside had betrayed his mount. His fuel of anger and hate or rather his mount's was his pitfall. All sorts of questions arose in his mind about his current position. If the darkside was his ally, then why did it betray him by betraying his mount? Could it do the same to him? Why wasn't he fearful? Perhaps it was because Ferine was nothing more than an animal and he instinctively yeilded to his fear. Yes, that made sense.

"Jedi, the path is ready for your mount."

The jedi snapped out of his thoughts and clicked his tongue. His mount pricked his ears forward in response to the familiar sound. He intelligently observed the path that consisted of rock, rising up into the bright outside at an angle. He read it safe to traverse.

"Go!" the apprentice voiced sharply before his mount could decide otherwise.

The stallion felt a sharp slap on his hindquarters from his master and he was quick to elegantly navigate his way up the path that rose about 20 feet in the air. If he didn't comply, then he would be disciplined with a quick shock of force lightning. At least he didn't realize that the apprentice wouldn't dare use it while the jedi was around. As long as he respectfully feared it the apprentice was benefited by it.

The stallion circled outside, pacing excitedly, eagerly awaiting for his master to emerge from the black hole. The jedi exited first, then Galen. The stallion snorted in glee as his master walked over to him.

IS casually used the force to move the great metal door back over the black hole in the rock above the ground. The metal screamed as it sheared on the solid rock. Once it was secure in place the jedi was off in an instant, into the jungle growth.

"Proxy, I hear something at the ramp, can you go check it out for me. I have to stay here in case Starkiller calls in," the pilot stated softly.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied walking from the cockpit to the ramp.

It lowered to reveal the curious red eyes of a nexu standing at its mouth. The ramp gently touched the grass infested ground with a soft hiss. The nexu padded up it, into the commons area of the Rogue Shadow. The droid reached down and patted the nexu on the head while it inspected him briefly before it wondered away. The droid remained at the door, studying the jungle growth.

The relieved pilot leaned back in her seat and sighed. She stared out at the sky. She was relieved and happy that the apprentice had found his mount. It was nice to see him in optimism which was practically never. She figured he himself was relieved to no longer be under Vader's tutelage and oppression. The monster was not be trusted. He was not true to his word and Galen did not deserve to be deceived by him. She knew he was capable of truly caring. He had come back for her when Vader had told her he was dead. She closed her expressive, blue eyes.

A warm, soft, pleasant surface brushed up against her right hand. Her eyes opened and she turned to release and alarmed cry. It was answered by an alarmed hiss from a nexu that stared back at her with its ears drawn back. She composed herself, placing her hand on her breast. She pulled her hand away.

"Juno?"

The pilot looked to the doorway to see the young apprentice step through the doorway with concern in his eyes. Juno sighed in relief.

"Uhm, yes, I-I just got alarmed when I found out there was a large animal in here. I'm not use to it being here. So are we off to find Kota?" she asked in a breathless voice.

The apprentice sighed. "Yes. Aminah, get out of here. Word to the wise: this is where I sit."

The nexu pricked its ears up at the apprentice then padded out of the cockpit, calmly. Her long tail brushed across his front side as she passed him. Juno looked at the apprentice as a small coo arose from his being. He sat down in his seat, cuffing his hands. Juno could see the fur sticking out from in between his fingers.

"What is it?" she asked.

"A small animal I found in the tunnels when I was looking for Feer. Its barely alive," the apprentice said soflty as he stroked the round fuzz ball.

"Aw, its adorable," the pilot laughed with a smile. She witnessed the little creature yawn. Little canine teeth prodded the air from the animal's mouth. Its eyes were very large, portraying its nocturnal tendencies. Its body was a dark brown while its underbelly was white. It softly whined in hunger.

"Its starving. IS should be back with some food for it soon."

"That's terrible," Juno said looking away.

The apprentice arose from his seat and stepped over to the pilot. Her hands were laid neatly over one another against her svelte stomach. The apprentice gently moved her hands out from her stomach lowering the animal into their cavity. The pilot looked up at him in slight confusion.

"Juno, I need a favor. I need you to take care of the animal for me. I won't have time to do it. He's yours."

"Yes, absolutely," the pilot said in delight. She glanced down at the little creature that secured itself against her stomach.

"Proxy, did you try to find any information on the jedi?" the apprentice asked turning away from the pilot.

The droid appeared in the door way. "No, Master. She is no where in the database. We know nothing about her. She was probably found after Order 66 and the empire never found out about her before or after."

"I'll-uh, be in the stall with Feer. He's unusually skittish," the apprentice stated, exiting the cockpit.

Juno once more glanced at the little animal in her hands that the young man had given her. She rubbed its soft body in pleasure. After a few strokes she found its ribs. She took pity on the animal.

"Its a wonder you're still breathing. All of your fur makes you look fat when you really aren't," she spoke. The voorpak was scooped into her left hand where she enclosed it with her fingers in a gentle cage. She comforted it while she set the navi-computer to direct them to their location with her right hand.

TFU and Characters (C) LucasArts

Iruwa and original characters (C) FatWithFuzz


	12. Chapter 12

The Voorpak greedily ate in the hands of the she-pilot as the small group traveled back to the bar area in the city. The pilot's svelte hands fed it large, juicy insects that the jedi had expertly plucked from the brush in the jungle. She had done it quite fast. They easily took off in record time to avoid any possible confrontation from displeased bounty hunters and clones.

Galen brushed down the yearning stallion that he hadn't seen in half a year. He had to convince the stallion to stay put when he moved to his hindquarters so he could give the stallion the attention his tail deserved. He had to hold the stallion's tail still while brushing it. The beast kept trying to enclose him with it out of affection. The apprentice usually didn't mind, but he was anxious to get the mount back in riding shape.

He had spent considerable time, all ready, on the stallion's beautiful long feather. The stallion had held still for most of it, savoring the familiar taste of his delicious oats that he had not tasted in ages.

The apprentice took a break to abate his stress. The stallion was back in his possesion. That was all that mattered at the moment besides finding Kota. He had been so angry. So angry he wanted to kill the men that had done this to his mount. Any more he was so disgusted and anxious he had wore himself out emotionally and mentally.

Galen lowered himself down against the outside wall's of Ferine's chrome stall. The stallion stepped over to the young man and lowered his head into his face where he blew in it.

"Lie down, Feer," the apprentice sighed.

The stallion lowered himself down facing the apprentice from the side. His muzzle searched for a bare place in Galen's armor. He found none on his upper body so his head moved down to the apprentice's right, outstretched leg. The young man watched the stallion for a moment. His left hand opened, hissing and spitting with a fist sized aura of force lightning. He eyed the stallion as the creature's ears pricked up. The stallion lifted his head immediately.

"Feer, don't make me shock you," the apprentice bared.

The stallion glanced away, acknowledging his rider's displeasure with a long awaited love bite. No matter. The stallion would wait until the apprentice changed outfits and Galen knew it. If he could prolong it he would, but he knew it was a bad idea.

"So, how is he eating?" The young jedi sat down in the co-pilot's chair next to Juno.

"He's doing great. He's ate the 5th bug I've given him. His belly is taught. I believe he's full," the pilot replied, gently squeezing the fist-sized animal.

The animal began to emit a coo-like purr as it settled down and closed its eyes.

"Yes, he's full. I have more bugs stashed away. He'll have plenty to eat."

Aminah came into the cockpit. She growled for attention, squeezing in between the pilot and the jedi's chairs. IS answered the feline's request, grabbing her fuzzy cheeks as she sat back on her haunches. Her hands scaled up and down the nexu's ears, scratching rapidly. The predator growled in pleasure, closing her red eyes.

The pilot composed her fear of the animal by sighing.

"I'm sorry," arose the jedi's apology," Aminah, let's go back to the table. C'mon."

The jedi herded the predator out of the cockpit to leave the pilot alone. Juno wasn't as fearful of it as she had been, but she had seen what nexu's could do. It was not pleasant. She also feared for the solid-bellied animal in her hands. She found it almost out of character for the apprentice to have given it to her, let alone keeping it to do so. She believed the best of him. She expected it of him, actually now.

Galen rubbed the stallion's short, muscular neck as he rested his mind. As much as he tried to stop thinking about some things they kept prodding him. He had never dared to question his master, at least, not out loud before him. He almost had inquired about the Dark Lord's will when he went to find General Kota. The sith lord wanted imperials as well as Kota's men killed in his wake. He hesitated to accept, but refrained from mentioning anything.

On that note, Vader had to have gotten rid of Ferine when he had killed him. The emperor had to have expected his understudy to get rid of everything that would threaten his position, including the stallion. He could have killed the stallion. His master had this spieled idea for him to rally the emperor's enemies. He still needed the stallion to do this. It was essential. He was thankful for that. From here he closed his eyes and meditated on various things to calm his mood.

The young jedi sat in the floor of the commons area, stroking the large predator's traingular head. She roughly petted the animal and removed any mats or burrs from the coat of the beast. Aminah lazily relaxed with her head in the jedi's lap as she was groomed. Her long tail thumped softly on the chrome floor.

"Aminah, what are we going to do now?" the jedi sighed, buring her face in the forehead of the feline.

Aminah raised her head and licked the face of the jedi with her rough tongue.

Some time passed and the apprentice felt a bit more relaxed as he meditated. The stallion kept wide awake, watching over his master. He was familiar with this routine. The apprentice could defend himself if there was an ambush, but the stallion, nonetheless, protected him anyways as part of his standard training. Ferine's ears swiveled back. He nickered loudly and the apprentice opened his eyes, looking to the doorway. Proxy stood patiently.

"Proxy," the apprentice said expectantly.

"Master, we are nearing our destination. Juno wanted me to let you know in advance. It won't be easy leaving the stallion here, will it?"

Galen sighed in dread. "No." He stood, grabbing the guarala's long horns.

The stallion snorted in disliking of this action. He was quick to pick himself up and twist his head free of the apprentice's enclosing hands. The apprentice grinned.

"Yeah, I know you don't like anybody messing with your horns. Even me." The young man wondered over to a nearby locker by the stallion's stall.

Ferine's ears pricked up.

"I can't leave him here. He'll have a meltdown. He could tear this place apart. I really don't want to leave Juno here with would be a mistake." The apprentice got into the locker.

The stallion stepped towards the young man. He was hoping the apprentice was doing what he thought he was doing.

"Master? Are you going to take him with you?"

"I have no choice, Proxy. He's too wild. I just don't want you or Juno to get hurt if he gets out. Think about it," the apprentice advised as he pulled his saddle out of the locker. The stallion whinnied in delight. "He hasn't seen me in over 4 months. If I leave again, what do you think he'll do? He'll try to come after me eventually. He really doesn't care what or who he hurts in the process."

"I suppose, master," the droid accepted, "but the crystals on your tack remain red, however."

The apprentice clicked his tongue. The stallion was before him in the blink of an eye. He sampled the familiar smell of the tack and saddle before the apprentice proceeded to outfit him with it.

"However, I redesigned your bridle leathers and your saddle and breast collar. They better present themselves for the general social culture," the droid added.

"Nice work Proxy," the young man complimented to the droid as he fitted the stallion's head with the bitless bridle.

"Oh, thank you master." The droid departed from the doorway.

Proxy was right. It was very risky to take the stallion with him. Being around strange people or people very similar to the nature of the beings that had cruelly handled him would surely set the stallion off. The apprentice thought for a moment then conceived an idea.

TFU and Characters (C) LucasArts

Iruwa and original characters (C) FatWithFuzz


	13. Chapter 13

The Jedi softly sang to the nexu that lay with its head in her lap. Her hands absent mindlessly rubbed the nexu's neck. The nexu lay completely still with her belly exposed. Proxy entered the commons area and curiously walked over to the jedi.

"The animal seems to be immobilized to your voice."

The jedi glanced up at the droid. "It tends to do that," she said through a smile.

The droid walked on, into the cockpit to see the pilot resting her eyes once more. The small animal in her hands peacefully slumbered with a full belly, warming them.

The young apprentice became strangely at peace as he neared the commons area. All of his dark thoughts fled from his mind. They could not remain. He thought of nothing. He paused at this occurrence. He could sense some type of aggrandized peace in the entire ship. Come to think of it, he didn't even hear Ferine calling after him or raising a fuss because he had left him alone. He had a pang of qualm to be so...quiescent in his mind and body.

Iruwa opened her eyes to look at the hallway that lead to another section of the ship. Eventually the apprentice rounded its corner. She kept singing softly until he was before her. The nexu remained unmoving to his presence. Aminah sighed heavily.

"I'm going to need your help with something," he said looking down at her.

"Shoot," she invited him.

"Feer is going to have to come with me on this next mission that I have. I need your expertise in keeping him calm."

"He's possessed and you want to take him where there's people?" the jedi inquired raising an eyebrow.

"Are you going to help me or not?" Galen countered.

The jedi sighed. "Yes, I'll help you. Its nothing I can't handle. I'm just making sure if you really want to do this. Somebody could get hurt," IS explained transitioning into song.

"What are you doing anyway?" the apprentice asked raising his eyebrow. "She's practically dead."

The apprentice gently poked the nexu's fuzzy belly with his boot. The predator didn't even flinch in response. She was completely desensitized to anything in the room, but the jedi's lulling voice. It was beautiful.

She had talent and she was using it through the force to enhance it. Strangely it was all he could focus on at the moment. He managed to resist the lull at the second to ask another question. The jedi stopped him short.

"I'm desensitizing her before we go into a populated area where people could force themselves on me or you. Even if I tell her its all right she'll attack anyway and we can't afford to draw attention. Adria might be there. I expect her to be. Just act normal and don't seek her," the jedi replied. "It's also is how I meditate."

"Master."

Galen turned to the cockpit entrance. Proxy stood in the door way.

"We are arriving at our destination. I don't hear Ferine's usual protesting, master. Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, Proxy. Tell Juno to set the ship down at the nearest port, but make sure its secluded from people."

Proxy turned away to wake the nappping pilot.

Before long the Rogue Shadow was descending onto a sequestrated landing platform at the request of the young man. The ramp was lowered and the apprentice and his eager mount traveled down it to the slick, chrome floor of the elevated city. Aminah and her master followed after them.

Ferine still retained his original black breast collar, linked by the red Quixion crystals and the large pendant in the middle on his breast. The stallion's saddle was simple and small for speed. The black saddle blanket had been switched out with one that was clean cut. His bridal was not its usual spiderweb composition. It was a standard bridal. It bore an arched brow band and no nose band. As usual, the stallion was bitless. The apprentice dared not put a bit in the stallion's mouth or even try to. He would lose a finger or more for messing with the stallion's mouth in a forceful way. Ferine wouldn't have it.

Ferine pricked his ears. He raised his head and noisly inhaled the metallic air to stimulate his memories of the terrible enviornment. The apprentice watched the stallion closely.

"Aw, this isn't good," he stated, gently jerking on the reins of the creature. The stallion grunted in displeasure.

"What was he doing?" the jedi asked, hugging herself.

"Feer, stop it, now," the young man commanded the animal. The stallion abated his actions, but did not cease entirely. "He's dwelling on his experience that he had before we rescued him. He wants revenge and he's fantasizing about it," the apprentice explained, eying his companion sternly. "He's been treated very cruelly."

The jedi blinked. "That's rather disturbing. He's worse than I thought."

Galen scoffed. "You have no idea," came the young man's grave tone. "Let's go before he completes his plan."

IS followed beside the great stallion, Aminah on the other side of her. Ferine's long tail waded behind him on the ground.

"I would appreciate it if you could completely immobilize his thoughts. He will go through with them regardless of the fact that I'm here to stop him," the apprentice requested.

The jedi closed her eyes. "Are you going to ride him at all?"

The young man scoffed. "I don't know yet. I don't want to draw attention to myself. I couldn't leave him behind on the ship."

"Why not?"

"Feer is very attached to me. He's never been away from me for more than a day or so at the most. He hasn't seen me in 6 months. I'm sure he expected me to be dead. I'm fortunate he wasn't mad at me for not finding him sooner. He's been upset with me before about it and holds grudges in a titivated way. I didn't want him to tear up the inside of the ship because he can do alot of damage. Nobody else knows how to handle him, but me."

"Aminah gets sad if I'm gone for more than a day. Other people can watch her, but as much I have taught her to take voice commands from others she's rebellious and she won't obey. She's very onry."

The nexu glanced about, pricking her ears. Her red eyes studied the environment around her as the group progressed to the main roads.

A harsh wind kept shearing the top most parts of the city. IS, despite the fact of her scarce clothing, remained warm under her cloak. The apprentice felt the sharp, bitter wind sting his face. He didn't mind it. Ferine was hot blooded and warmed by his thick feather. He was indifferent by it himself. The stallion could plow through snow in a snow storm without getting stiff. The long hair that covered his muzzle filtered the cold air he breathed. Galen wondered about the young jedi. Her cloak was a thermal material, perhaps, but it was cold up here. She didn't seemed phased by it. He found this fascinating. He also wondered about how she was not injured due to her lack of armoring.

TFU and Characters (C) LucasArts

Iruwa and original characters (C) FatWithFuzz


	14. Chapter 14

The guarala stallion lowered his head gradually. The apprentice felt the slack in the reins. It was a surprise to him and he stopped. Galen turned to the stallion in concern.

"Relax," IS said demurely. "He's docile now. We've walked about 2 miles into this slum and I just now got him to yield to my efforts. Wow, I guess he is that bad," the jedi sighed in relief.

The apprentice rolled his eyes in confirmation. He turned away and clicked his tongue. The stallion began walking again. His head remained at a relaxed level. Never once did his head jerk at the reins as he wanted to go his own way against the apprentice.

IS composed herself as people began to appear. Usually she wasn't out in the open like this. Bounty hunters and natives traveled about in the massive crossroads and resting areas. The bar was coming up to them. Galen and she had to descend down a long ramp to get there. Luckily, it was in a wide open area so the stallion and Aminah could have some wiggle room.

Passing peoples minded their own business. None bothered to look back after them, at least, not to where they noticed. Iruwa heard the change in their paces as they paused to watch them walk. Eventually, she pulled her hood over her head. Her dark face disappeared under its concealing shadow. Her eyes could barely even be detected with the naked eye. She felt more comfortable this way. Her meditating lullaby had completely prepared the nexu for close contact with people. Whenever one would pass her she would not acknowledge them.

Ferine remained quiet. The apprentice slowed his pace to where he fell back beside the left side of the mount's face. His hand settled on top of the stallion's arched snout. The guarala raised his head in response to the rub of Galen's hand. He raised it into the hand of the apprentice, savoring his affectionate pat. Ferine nickered softly.

IS's dark eyes contemplated the young man's actions. The stallion was a monster. Both he and she knew this. He could be, anyway, but when he wanted to be, he could be the best friend to the apprentice that he could have in a close fight. IS noted this. But the stallion could also rebel or go off on his own charade. He was vindictive, salacious, and acrid in his mannerisms. She found it hard to accept that he could be both at the same time more or less.

The image of the strolling group and their environment blurred, and then retracted into a wider span of their location. The device that received their image was lowered from the eyes of an observer perched on top of a center tower. It was located about 400 feet away to the east.

"Captain, he's here. The man that I told you about, he's got three other friends with him. Two of them I'm willing to give to you for a little price," the observer said into a comlink. The observer tossed her head to right her black hair as it was whipped around by the cold wind. "There's a nexu and a guarala. From the look of it the guarala is a stallion. I've gotten word that a guarala was seized from its cell. Several bounty hunters have sent out a lost and found alert on him. I think he's the one. My bounty hunter seems to have befriended the animal in a way those men could not."

The binoculars were brought up once more into the eyes of the observer.

"Bring me the nexu and the guarala. I will pay you excessively. Such exotic creatures will be perfect prey to add to my hunting collection. You never cease to impress me, my lady," the comlink spoke.

"Ten four to that captain," the observer pleasurably voiced. An evil grin tore across her lips. "Sorry, my not bounty hunter, but I will have to confiscate your precious animal. Tiz a shame. I'd hate to make you upset. He is a handsome animal as much as you are."

The caravan descended down the ramp to the massive bar area. The bar area was quite animated with sentient beings. They were fairly spaced out. The animals would not be bothered or nervous.

Ferine neighed softly at the sight of the people. His lower jaw quivered expressively.

"Feer, easy, now," Galen consoled the stallion. He realized how caustically the stallion had been treated. It was enough to cause him to be weary rather than angered or offended in his demure state. The stallion didn't even balk in protest. Instead he pressed against the apprentice as he walked.

IS began to sing softly to herself. Her voice wafted into the air around them, acoustically enhanced by the force.

"The galaxy awaits my arrival to the shore. Somewhere beyond the sea, he's there watching for me. My lover stands on golden sands and watches the ships that go sail-ing, sail-ing-"

Her voice echoed in the air and in the ears of those that surrounded her. Her voice faded away and ceased to be heard as it meshed with the winds that blew around them.

"Who are we looking for?" she asked in her normal voice.

The apprentice snapped out of his trance that had been induced by the jedi's voice. "General Kota. I'll need his expertise on fighting the empire."

"I know him," the jedi said in delight. "I've helped him avoid detection by the empirical forces that swarm around here off and on."

"Well, then you can help me convince him that I need his help."

"Maybe," the jedi abated. "It's your idea, not mine. You should do the talking. I know nothing of what we need from him."

The bar area seemed docile upon their entrance. The stallion's clawed feet lightly clicked on the slick floor of the bar. Men and women dotted the many tables and bar stools, talking softly or laughing. Little pig-like sentient beings littered the floors drinking or wrestling. The apprentice gave no warning of his approach. He pushed past them if they were in his way. Mostly they got out of the way on their own free will. However, the apprentice and Iruwa did not fade away. The occupants of the bar watched them suspiciously.

IS sensed the female zeltron close by. Her presence was confirmed by Aminah's alerting growl.

"I know, girl. Just ignore her. We want to prolong our acknowledgment of her existence as long as possible."

"She's around here somewhere," the apprentice said softly.

The stallion sensed his discomfort and consoled the apprentice with nuzzling and nickering.

"We need to hurry," IS advised. "They're trying to contact the empirical observers. Go left ahead of you. Master Kota is close."

The jedi master slumbered as result of a hangover. Many bottles littered his table from his aimless drinking spree. His eyes were concealed by a raffish cloth wrapped around his face.

Upon seeing the general, the apprentice recalled his confrontation with him.

The stallion blew out of his nose brusquely as the apprentice came up to the general's table. The table jolted with Galen's sharp kick to its edge. The weather worn general jerked out of his slumber when his finger tips brushed across the contour of a bottle. He caught its descent to the floor and set it upright.

IS remained off to the side. The apprentice could hear her doing something, but he didn't care enough to look.

"General Kota?"

"Look, I paid for this table," the general crisply announced, "so, whoever you are, get lost!"

"I've tracked you across the galaxy from Nar Shaddaa to Zeost," Galen said adamantly.

"And who are you?" the general snarled. He chuckled softly. "A bounty hunter?"

"Not exactly," Galen disclaimed with a wince, "but I think we can help each other out, jedi."

Iruwa raised her left hand up to her face to tighten a black material around her forearm and hand. Her long sleeves fell back against her elbows. She flexed her hand and drew her lightsaber. "Jedi, they're coming." Her eyes were narrowed with determination.

The general scoffed. Ferine butted Galen's arm rather forcefully. This man was a jedi too. He wanted the young man to see this. Galen used his right elbow to press into the stallion's pendant on his breast. He sharply pushed the stallion back and away from him. Ferine sidestepped with a confused nicker. He pricked his ears at Galen's action. Why did he do that? Obviously he didn't want to be bothered about it. This was important for some reason. The stallion wisely bothered the apprentice no more.

"Heh, I'm no jedi now. Not since," the general pointed to his covered eyes, "this!"

Galen growled. "I don't need your eyes, just your mind and everything you know about fighting the empire!"

Kota laughed loudly. "Well, nobody fights the empire and win's, boy!"

Iruwa watched the apprentice turn around suspiciously. "You better hope you're wrong about that, general," Galen concluded.

"Look, that's him! Over there!"

Several little sentient beings pointed their stubby fingers over at the three jedi with confirmed assurance. Two empirical stormtroopers cocked their blaster rifles. They stood in the entry way of the bar.

"That's him all right. Stop, all of you!"

They approached rapidly.

"They've surely alerted others. We'll have to fight our way out of here, now," said IS activating her pink lightsaber.

The apprentice somersaulted over the head of the stallion. Ferine unsurely reared. Once he felt the apprentice land upon his back in the saddle he fully reared with glee. Galen reined the stallion around to face the approaching storm troopers.

IS went over to aid the general in his erection to his feet.

"Iruwa? Is that you?" came his slurred inquiry.

"Yes," she sighed, "its me, Master Kota. Why are you here drinking again?" she chastised him.

The grizzled jedi grumbled indistinctly, drawing his new blue lightsaber.

IS sighed and rolled her eyes leaving the general to himself. He was somewhat sober. Seemingly enough to manage a lightsaber that could easily sever a limb if used foolishly.

The two stormtroopers cried out in alarm as they were headbutted by the guarala's long horns. One flew into the bar area, shattering the glass bottles that titivated the shelves and the other crashed into a poker table that four bounty hunters had set up. They tore out of their chairs in anger. Several blasters were drawn on the young apprentice and his mount.

"What's the big idea, boy?!"

Galen just stared at them for moment. They all opened fire on him. He instinctively maneuvered his lightsaber having seen the trajectory of the bullets in advance. He heard their ricochet, but it wasn't by his own blade. Ferine hobbled backward in offense as Aminah landed before him, swiping at the bounty hunters. The bar was in an uproar. People fled or got at a safe distance and watched. It wasn't for long though. More stormtroopers arrived by air and foot to subdue the group.

TFU and Characters (C) LucasArts

Iruwa and original characters (C) FatWithFuzz


	15. Chapter 15

The apprentice reined the great black stallion down the winding roads of Nar Shaddaa. He plowed through stormtroopers, launching them over the edges of the streets or trampled them by the stallion's feet. The stallion enjoyed this outbreak of fighting. He was actually quite eager to attack enemy clones as he had originally been trained to do. It was just like old times.

The apprentice used his free hand to roughly pat the stallion's neck before reining him to a halt. He twisted around in his saddle.

"General, can't you move any faster?" he asked.

IS followed after the wobbly-legged jedi as he made his way after the stallion. He stumbled over Ferine's tail and the stallion snorted in anger. Galen faced forward and sharply pulled the reins back. The stallion's head was twisted sideways.

"Ferine, you're doing good. Just relax," Galen said softly.

The stallion nickered as the apprentice released his head. Galen moved the stallion out of the path of General Kota.

"Are you kidding me?" IS blurted out. She passed the general and Galen at a run.

Aminah wasn't with her with her for some reason.

"C'mon, general," Galen said, breaking the stallion into a brisk trot.

The general muttered indistnctly in response, hobbling after the apprentice.

IS harshly grunted as she threw her hands forward. A great funnel of the force ripped a dozen stormtroopers off their feet sending them cascading to their deaths below. Aminah caught herself in the air and landed on her feet, countering the force blast. She appreciatively vocalized her master's timing.

"Fuzz-butt why do you do that? You know you're not supposed to have that many for yourself," Iruwa said.

The nexu galloped up to her, growling affectionately. The young jedi patted the nexu's shoulder. Aminah hissed at the black stallion as he neared. Her master's strangely excessive, painful wrap pulsated across her hindquarters.

"Aminah! Stop it."

The predator dashed away, ahead of the jedi to avoid meeting the stallion. IS shook her head. It was going to be a long time before the two creatures ever accepted one another as a permenant relationship.

"Stop you!"

Galen threw out his left hand. A jump trooper, suspended in the air by a jetpack screamed as he was sent flying out of control into the abyss below. Kota spun around awkwardly, slicing a stormtrooper with his blue lightsaber. The clone cried out, falling into the rail. He flipped over it, falling to a commons area below.

"Dumb clones! I was right to not have them in my squad before this war," Kota growled.

"They're stormtroopers now, general," Galen corrected the girzzled master. He brought Ferine to a pause on the path.

"Boy," Kota whined, "I've been alive a lot longer than you. Just move." The jedi continued his uneven stroll.

Galen sighed with a roll of his eyes. He raised his left wrist to his mouth. "Juno," he demanded, "we need pick up-now!" He broke the stallion into a lope.

"I copy," the pilot responded.

The young jedi somersaulted and dashed in such a way it was almost as if she were dancing. She took out many stormtroopers this way. Galen studied her fighting style, but he could not pinpoint a single specific preference. It was a mix of many. At one point he even saw her reverse her grip on her lightsaber and dance around that way to take out stormtroopers. She was very well rounded. Not that she had to be bound to one style. It was just she performed in such an unfamiliar manner.

"Send in the shadow gaurds, now! We've got heavy resistance with this fugtives! They're apparently a group of jedi!"

IS processed the words she heard from a secluded stormtrooper. He was a sniper perched in the canopy of the city somewhere above. She felt a hand land on her left shoulder. She grabbed its forearm rolling its beholder over her shoulder, onto the cold metal floor. Without a cue the nexu was on top of the attacker in an instant.

"Iruwa, get this animal off of me, now!"

The young jedi gasped. "Master Kota! I'm so sorry! Aminah, get out of here!"

IS helped the general stand as the nexu circled her master.

"I know you're more sensitive than that," Kota voiced.

"Just spur of the moment, I guess," IS sighed in embarressment.

"Where's your master at?" Kota asked.

IS steadied his stance by holding his left arm. "She dissapeared about a year ago. I stowed away on a cargo ship with Aminah and came here. She left me on Tatooine with very little info about where she was going. I don't know if she's dead or what."

"I am sorry," the general sighed and consolingly placed his hand on Iruwa's shoulder.

"IS, General! We need to get to the commons area! Juno will pick us up there!" Galen shouted as he galloped passed the two jedi.

"Let's go, Kota." The young jedi took off using the force to give her extra momentum in her stride.

The young apprentice stretched out both of his hands. He gripped two explosive barrels with the force before him. Ferine galloped down a road that turned into a circular passage about 30 feet before him. A mass of storm troopers came from around both bends of the circle. In its enclosure a great tower reared up from the center of it. The young man herded the barrels down the remainder of the straight stretch of road at the storm troopers. The troopers didn't seem to balk at this sight. Some smartly dodged the barrels that violently picked up speed eventually exploding once they hit the wall of the tower.

IS ran beside the great black stallion. "The troopers are sending in shadow guards. What exactly are those? They're doing it specifically because we're jedi."

"They're not a good thing at all. They're deadly," Galen foreshadowed. "Have you ever fought one before?"

"No, I have not."

"The best thing-"

IS broke foreward with an explosion in the force to the spire of the cylinder tower. Ferine snorted in alarm, but he did not shy in his run. The apprentice watched her sharp climb to a figure standing on top of the spire. It was the red zeltron female.

IS drew her lightsaber back over her right shoulder to strike the zeltron female down. Before She could make contact a red line lined itself up on her chest area. Its origin came from behind the alien. She grunted harshly by the hit she recieved from the sniper's rifle blaster. She briskly fell back down to the cold road.

The zeltron female cackled once IS hit the unforgiving hard ground. The apprentice reined the stallion to a stop, turning him sideways to see to it that the young jedi was all right. IS elegantly erected herself with a sharp kick to the air with both of her feet. She glared up at the zeltron who folded her arms confidently. The wind picked up around them, pushing the jedi's cloak apprentice noticed black leggings that completely enclosed the jedi's feet and shins. The same material covered her entire hands and forearms up to the elbows. She wasn't wearing this material earlier. She must have put it on earlier while he was recruiting Kota.

"Iruwa, darling!" the Zeltron yelled with a taunting smile. She delightedly waved at the young woman.

"Adria," the young jedi growled.

The jedi seemed unaffected by the fall. Galen glanced up at the Zeltron female. Apparently IS's first name, anyway, was Iruwa.

"Adria, I'm warning you, stay away!" Iruwa stated.

Adria scoffed. "And what are you going to do about it, dear? Nothing? Will your new friend here and his trusty steed do something about it for you?"

"Leave him out of this. This doesn't not concern him. What are you doing? You're surely up to no good."

The zeltron shrugged.

"Never mind! Jedi, we've got to keep moving, now!" Iruwa directed. "She's only stalling us! Kota!"

"Iruwa, I'm right here, what is your problem?" the general whined as he walked up to the young jedi.

"General, we have to go. Adria only brings trouble," Iruwa wisely stated.


	16. Chapter 16

"Pritchard!"

The snarl jolted the man at his desk. He looked fearful for a moment, but it became calm as he gathered himself.

"Why are you screwing with something that doesn't belong to you?" Adam placed his hands on Pritchard's desk after throwing the man's door open.

Kubwa paced into the room. His nostrils quivered and he got to work inspecting things he didn't have time to before.

"Because, I feel unsafe and I have the ability to make sure my wellbeing is preserved. I want to know where your dog is at all times. I even sent an email to Sarif about it."

"What?"

"Talk with him about it."

Adam leaned forward, baring his teeth. "No," was his low growl, "this is between you and me. You've changed equipment that was not assigned to you. The cameras are my responsibility. If you have a problem, tell me, not Sarif! I'll talk to him about your little insecurities as well. He approved of the dog running loose. Kubwa! Come on!"

Kubwa yowled at Adam. He turned to face him and Adam swung around.

"Dammit, do not argue with me!"

Kubwa let loose a rolling bark at the man. Pritchard shook again. Adam mouthed to the dog before he departed. The mutt followed him, growling all the while. His upper body flew up onto the desk and Pritchard had the honor of hearing the rant the dog had to give for his troubles.

"Kubwa!" Adam snarled.

The white beast dropped down and trotted out. He had a bone to pick with Adam now. Pritchard was a serious problem for him and if Adam was under a lot of stress, it would not bode well for their bond. The man had to be under as little stress as possible.

"Calm down."

"What?" Adam snapped. One black shade glared over his shoulder.

"You're going to make yourself sick. Calm down, now!"

"Adam!"

Adam growled to himself as Megan trotted to a stop before him. "Adam," she took his arm. "You need to see Sarif right away."

"Why couldn't he speak to me on the info link?"

"Because, something is wrong with our systems. I don't know what, but anything electronic is malfunctioning. Hurry."

Adam pulled away and headed for the elevator. He hadn't noticed anything wrong with him or his augmentations, or the mutt.

"Adam, you're going to have to infiltrate that concrete garage sooner than I thought. They're assembling some type of massive emp."

"That's suicide, boss. I can't function or live without my implants. Not for very long in this line of work."

"Do it before it gets that bad, Adam. Go. Fit the dog with that jacket. It's finished, I believe. Megan has it in her lab office. Go, now!"

Kubwa stood, waiting patiently for the jacket to be secured on him. It was a snug, comfortable, and highly flexible fit. The material was nothing to complain about. The white beast wagged his tail when Adam knelt beside Megan.

"This jacket will keep him warm or cool, depending on what he's doing or the weather. It will keep him dry and it can deflect bullets. It's resistant to emp waves, but if the wave is prolonged, the jacket will lose its power and function. If it does quit, its basic functions, such as warming, cooling, and drying will still continue. You remove it with this clip, here."

Kubwa heard the click and the whine of the release. He felt the jacket's secure hold loosen.

"And you secure it with this one, here."

The whine reached Kubwa's ears again and the jacket tightened. Kubwa lifted his head, baying. Adam grabbed the dog's head. The dog was turned about to face him.

"Calm down. We're leaving now. Thanks Megan."

"Be careful, Adam. It's very risky going in there now."

"I'll be fine Megan. I've got the dog." Adam whistled to the dog.

Kubwa turned away, cantering after the tall, dark man. Finally, they were going on their first real mission together.

"I'm sure you know my terms, dog."

"Whoa, "human"," Kubwa enunciated, "I have a name. You WILL call me by it." Kubwa paced beside Adam on the sidewalk. The rain pelted his fur and the man's battle gear, however, both were toasty.

"You do as I say and nothing more, got it?"

Kubwa groaned, frowning. "As you wish." The shops along the road caught his eye. He hoped Cori was all right. "Have you…heard anything about Cori?"

"Not lately. I'm sorry this is taking so long." Adam rounded the corner of the block. He stepped off the sidewalk, sloshing through a rather deep puddle. He headed for the parking garage under an eye-care clinical building. "This is a strange place for a giant EMP."

"Don't be surprised. Anything can happen anymore, these days, you know. I thought it couldn't get this bad. I was wrong. Such as having a giant EMP on your doorstep, more or less, give or take a few hundred feet."

"Yeah, it's probably for Sarif Industries, mostly. The rest of the city is collateral damage."

The mutt was first to hop over the inactive gates. Adam climbed over it, taking his time. He wasn't in a big rush. Once the two rounded the corner it was obvious his energies had not been too wasted in a hurry.

"The damn doors are braced. Is this place open today?" The mutt glanced back at Adam.

"No, it's been closed since the riots. Nice place, though, for a secret operation. The employees here were sent home days ago. We'll have to break inside." He headed out, back into the street.

Thunder bellowed overhead. The rapid skittering of the dog was audible on their way through the alleyway to the back of the building. He caught up with the handsome man and pressed into him.

"Why are you afraid?"

"Kubwa glanced up at the man and licked his jowls. After a while of the dog not answering, Adam dropped the topic entirely.

"Receiving is done back here." Adam snuck over to a stationary storage crate at the base of a dock. "Pritchard, can I get a code to the back door of the office building across the street?"

"Oh, really?"

Adam sighed. "Please, Pritchard. This isn't the time to be an ass."

"Look who's talking. It's on its way."

Adam hoisted himself up onto the dock as the code entered his mind's eye. His black fingers played a melody of beeps before the door answered back with its own. Adam grabbed the handle, shoving the door open. The backup lights flared up and he could see inside. Nothing but giant crates, cardboard boxes, and file cabinets seemed to occupy this storage area. Kubwa cleared the docking bay in a single leap and shoved his way in, standing gallantly in the middle of the floor. His neck was high.

"Cameras, Adam."

Adam's eyes drew up to the farthest corners of the room. "Yeah, they're on all right. We'll have to disappear fast." He drew his revolver, neutralizing the electronic eyes. "I didn't even see them or detect them. How in the hell did you?" He refilled the magazine and flicked the gun closed, sheathing the weapon.

"You are deaf. I can hear them. Can't you? Anything electronic I can hear breathing. It's irritating as hell at times." Kubwa sauntered away, head to the floor, reading stories of the people that were here days ago.

Adam followed him, keeping his head up. "No, not like you. An electronic signature is what I rely on. This EMP business is worse than I thought. It's taking out the smallest little things. Anything biological reigns in this damn place."

"Then start using your man-abilities."

"I'm no bloodhound."

"Ah, but you have me." Kubwa threw up his head, galloping to an elevator. "This is still working. You'll have to manually type in the code to the floor you want. They've shut down its automatic function." Kubwa turned sideways and waited for the man to do what he did best. Pressing buttons was not one of the dog's strong talents.

"You're just using me."

"Excuse me, pinky, I beg to differ." Kubwa watched Adam hack the doors. They opened and he skipped inside.

"Do you see in color? I'm far from "Pink." Unless, your kind is racist."

"You're human THE race. There are no "races". Humans have become stupid with that spiel. I don't know why. There are breeds of dog. It's the same for humans. Not "Races"."

"Interesting. Never thought I'd hear that from a dog."

"Well, today is your lucky day. Shhh! Be quiet!" Kubwa froze and his ears shot up.

Adam entered the code to stop the elevator. Through the vent they could both hear voices.

"Kyle, the cameras are down in the east docking bay. They were fine a few minutes before."

"It's this damn thing we're working on. You can't expect our shit to run right as well as everybody else's! This whole set up is stupid!"

"Both of you shut up. You're pissing me off. Just do your damn jobs. Don't worry about the cameras. Kyle is right. This EMP is going to do some damage to our equipment as well. Tell the others we're ready to shut it off for its recharge. Hurry up."

"Now's our chance to do some damage. What level are we on?"

"Level B. Not even close to the EMP."

"It's on level D, then…let's make some noise!" Kubwa barked, softly and wagged his tail.

Original Characters ©FatWithFuzz

Adam and Canon Characters©Square Enix


	17. Chapter 17

The raving apprentice was brusquely cut short in his stride by a powerful force blast. He harshly grunted, flying back the way he had come. He caught himself by the countering release of a subtle repulse with the force. Galen landed on his feet with an acrid growl. A blue, armored shadow guard bared himself in his way.

Iruwa studied the zeltron. She proudly placed her booted sole on the stallion's short neck. The alien was up to something. She had to be. The young woman noticed a large cargo ship approaching the dock.

Galen unveiled a caustic scream of ire that sheared the jedi's ears. It was very uncouth for the young man's current class. Why was he so angry? Didn't he know that aggrandizing anger led to the darkside? It reverberated in her ears. Iruwa cringed with the acumen of her jedi training. He was not having the right tolerance of this event. Perhaps he didn't know what she did.

The young man begrudgingly snarled. He cupped his palms and let lose a force blast to aggrandize it. The shadow guard blocked the blast, but only enough to stay on his feet. He slid back easily on the slick floor. In addition to his sliding he met the receiving end of the ghoulishly, hysterical apprentice. Galen put his anger into his limbs. The shadow guard blocked the highly conditioned thrusts of the apprentice with his pike. The two energy beams fizzed and hissed in a mad quarrel.

The young man made several revolutions on his feet. The first swipe with his lightsaber raced through the guard's pike staff. It had no effect. The guard blocked it. Galen snarled, increasing his blows. The second swipe on his swivel was aimed at the guard's shins. The apprentice elegantly lunged on his second complete revolution. His lightsaber blade ran into the guard's legs. The guard was sent careening onto his backside. Galen ended the irritating duel with a swift downward thrust of his lightsaber blade into the chest of the shadow guard. He tore away from the dead guard to the platform.

Iruwa approached the landing platform. The cargo ship was landing on its surface. The strange chicken-like contraption of the stubby little aliens sauntered up the ramp, grabbing the lifeless stallion with an energized beam. Ferine's 17 hand body was lifted and transported to the lowering ramp of the cargo ship easily. The great stallion was defeated.

"Adria, stop, now!" Iruwa commanded.

"Sorry, Iruwa, darling, but no can do. This is the biggest paycheck I've had since I can remember. Sleep tight, sweetie and you too, stud muffin." The alien aimed her pistol at Iruwa.

Iruwa slid to a stop. "Jedi, stop, now!"

Galen did not recieve her words. He flew into the air. His lightsaber was drawn back over his left shoulder. The urge to return the pain he felt marginally surged at his fingertips. He desired to let fly foce lightning from his hands, but he refrained from it for reasons unknown.

Adria drew another pistol out of a right holster on her thigh. She pointed it at the young apprentice. She gave him a wink before pulling the trigger on both Iruwa and him. Iruwa dashed out of the way in advance. Galen was not so fortunate. He was prodded with Adria's projectile. It lodged itself in his left shoulder. His vision blurred before he could safely land and he fell out of the air.

The young jedi grabbed the young man with the force before he could hit the ground. She lowered him to the floor. He lay unmoving. The red lightsaber blade's shearing hum ceased. The jedi swiftly traveled to his side. She plucked a red dart from the shoulder of the apprentice. She had seen it before.

"This isn't good! Aminah!" Iruwa shouted urgently. She jumped up making frantic circles. "Aminah! Kitty-kitty!"

There was no response. Iruwa jerked around with a simmering anger hearing the zeltron laugh.

"Iruwa, your kitty isn't coming." Adria sheathed her guns giving a casual head gesture to her right.

The jedi followed her suggested action to see the lifeless body of Aminah being transported by the same energized beam that the stallion had been by. Out from the shadows another metal machine waded to the cargo ship.

"No! Aminah!" Iruwa was more than upset with the zeltron. This time she had crossed the line. Iruwa's line of work concerned her companion and her companion was in danger now. "Adria, if you do this, you'll regret it, I assure you!" the young Jedi spat.

Adria clicked her tongue in mock chastisement. "Iruwa, you're a jedi. Jedi do not get revenge nor do they give into anger. You and your kind are so predictable. Ciao, honey!" The zeltron waltzed up the ramp.

Aminah's body floated into the cargo ship disappearing behind a mass of crates.

"No!" Iruwa started forward. She cleared the railing to the platform in an elegant leap. Her cloak billowed behind her as she made contact with the ramp.

Adria whipped around drawing both of her pistols. She fired at Iruwa's upper body. The young woman skillfully deflected every bullet with her forearms alone. Adria growled in annoyance. If there was one thing she could give the girl credit for it was being persistent. The girl was way too bonafide for her tastes.

"You're a pest, my lady!" she remarked.

Iruwa bolted for the zeltron. In mid stride a harsh groan escaped her throat. Her body went rigid in pain. The jedi was involuntarily launched back out into the open commons area. Her body slithered with purple force lightning. She hit the unforgiving floor, rolling three times on her side before she ceased to move. The jedi opened her eyes coming to on her stomach.

A heavy cloak billowed in a sudden sharp wind. Booted feet clicked on the slick floor. Iruwa heard it approaching her position. The sound of the ramp retracting to close the loading dock of the cargo ship activated her urgency to erect herself. Its engines roared as it took off.

The jedi was abominably weak. Her limbs still burned from the immobilizing pain of the force lightning. It was the most horrible pain she had ever felt in her jedi career. She attempted to pick herself up, rising onto her elbows and then her knees. Before she could get her bearings she was ripped off the floor and perched in the air. She cried out in pain as the contracting power of the force crush threatened to concave her body.

She witnessed the cause of this force. A shadow guard cloaked in a black robe stood with his hand in the air. In it he grasped the young jedi, mercilessly. Iruwa started to call for Aminah, but...the animal was no longer with her. The jedi became morose and the pain increased. Adria was right. She wouldn't allow anger to lead her. Perhaps if the anger was not directed at a person, but the thing that they followed.

Galen suddenly gasped, jerking awake. He sat up holding his punctured shoulder in slight soreness. The lithe figure of the young man arose from the floor and Iruwa saw him from her position. She didn't have time to be sad. There were other matters to tend too. The shadow guard became unstable as his force crush had no more effect on the young jedi.

Galen circled having remembered what had just happened. There was no evidence of Ferine or the ship that had taken him. The tense hands of the young man clenched until stark white in a silent anger. Iruwa's shout caused him circle once more.

He saw the jedi dive at the shadow guard. He ran as fast as his feet could carry him. The guards were known to have good counter attacks if pinned down. A death by force lightning was not a pleasant one. Being shocked by it was a whole different matter. The young man activated his red lightsaber.

Iruwa cocked her right forearm across her front. The guard was caught by his throat as he hit the ground. His wind pipe was crushed from the momentum of the jedi. His neck snapped giving him instant death. It was like meeting a brick wall. Iruwa stood erect off of the guard. She briefly panted to ease her aching body, and then stepped over the guard. She met the inquiring face of the young man. Her attitude was relieved.

"Feer's-"

"Ah!" Iruwa raised her wrapped hands. "Don't say anything, don't do anything. Period. Ferine is not dead."

"She shot him!" the young man raved.

"Yes, I know." Iruwa sighed. There was a lot this young man had to learn, but she would go at it slowly. "Adria took Aminah also. She tranquilized them both. Where she took them I have not figured out yet."

The apprentice composed his mood.

"Relax. You definitely need it," Iruwa laughed. She turned away, walking to the empty platform.

Galen followed her for a ways then stopped. "You would have had the same reaction as I." He deactivated his lightsaber.

The young jedi ceased to walk. Galen watched her sigh. After a moment she turned to the young man.

"Let me tell you something that I have learned. An animal is an animal. If there are people involved, then that is your first priority. If my companion was hurt, injured or dead it was not something to be go after as a primary objective. When things like this happen a jedi has to move on. It's not as easy as it sounds, trust me. I'm still working on it. Once your objective is complete, then you can find your friend. Sometimes they find you first."

It sounded like something a jedi would say, but then Galen wasn't a jedi. The stallion was all he had next to Juno, Proxy, and his lightsaber. It was a big deal to him. He had known nothing else all of his life. Also, to see his companion struggling to survive was something that bothered him for various reasons. He did see how committed the young woman was to her teachings just as he was. She had lost her master more than a year ago and she kept going on despite that.

"It's a fool's errand, boy," a grizzled Kota informed the two jedi as he approached them from the side. He slightly tripped over a stormtrooper's armor before stopping in front of the apprentice and jedi.

"You're okay!" Iruwa rejoiced. "What took you so long to get back up?" The young jedi frowned and shook her head.

"You could be killed," Kota lamented, "or worse."

It was rather funny to hear such words. He had wished at times he had died. Some of the routines he had to go through had been torturous in nature.

"And nothing will have changed."

"But wouldn't you rather die on your feet, than drown in some cantina?" Galen corrected the Jedi Master with bared audacity.

Kota chuckled. "Heh, I don't know. But," he said raising a finger, "I do have a contact in the senate that could use your lightsaber. Where's your ship?"

Galen's expression became hopeful.

"Juno's here, guys," Iruwa shouted from afar.

Galen and Kota were eluded that the jedi had walked away without either one of them noticing. Juno was in the process of lowering the Rogue Shadow onto the platform.


End file.
